The Last Necromancer
by The Captain Carrot
Summary: Thousands of years after Valkyrie died and the humans declared war on magic, the whole world collapsed. People possessing magic are hunted down and slaughtered and most travel in groups to avoid death. Valkyrie? Skulduggery? All that remains of their legacies are ashes. Little stories and rumors. But something's rising from the ashes. A second spark is waiting... (Cover Art by me.)
1. Prologue

_**Prologue:**_

_Ah Valkyrie…._

_We had some good times didn't we? We became legends, saving lives, saving the world. We were unstoppable. For centuries. You know, I still remember when you were twelve, defending yourself with a fire poker._

_But, unfortunately, you didn't get to live a full life. I must admit, you had many enemies. But we were both foolish and were under the false hope that when you decided to retire, the new grand mage would make a full effort to keep you safe. But of course, he didn't. So here I am, in a world without Valkyrie Cain, and where her killer roams free. A stupid mortal. Just one bullet and that was it. _

_But you already know this. You were the one that died after all. Valkyrie, I'm done with this. The glory is gone, you're gone, the dead men are gone, heck, everything worth fighting for is gone. There's only one thing left to do. All of this anger I have, it has to go _somewhere_, and at this point, I really don't care if Vile destroys the world or not._

_Skulduggery Pleasant._

* * *

Grand Mage Severe looked gravely at the mortal leaders. They had declared war on magic nine years ago when Lord Vile destroyed most of New York in search for Valkyrie Cain's killer. As the last Grand Mage left, Severe was the last person to represent the magic community. Or what was left of it.

The humans had destroyed all of the sanctuaries except for the Irish sanctuary, forcing all magical beings into hiding. Now, the magic community was on the brink of extinction, and the mortals were completely crippled from debts, population decrease, and lack of resources. Their governments had collapsed and they were forced to form small, isolated towns.

One would have thought that it would be easy to gain the upper hand once they had fallen into chaos, but the fact was, the magic community wasn't in very good shape either. It was entirely impossible to defeat them when all of the magic beings refused to follow the old rules, the sanctuary's rules.

The title 'Grand Mage' was an empty one, with no importance or meaning, much like the mortal leaders standing before him. They had all been stripped of all respect or power their people had trusted with them.

The former president of America cleared his throat and looked at Severe with cold eyes, "Grand Mage. I believe it's time we discuss the matters at hand." He gestured for Severe to sit and he did so, very slowly, never taking his eyes off the mortals. He wouldn't have been the first Mage to be slaughtered under false peace agreements.

The former king of Britain poured them all glasses of champagne, which all of them ignored. Severe kept his expression blank and devoid of emotion. The American president, who was hosting this gathering in the last modernized building in the city of D.C., smiled in the same way that a farmer does at a chicken before slicing it's head off,

"Now gentlemen, I'd like to point out a few things to the Grand Mage Severe before revealing my intentions for this meeting."

All eyes were on Severe now.

"First off, your people have been picking us off for centuries. Then, you simply sweep it under the rug and pretend that it didn't happen. You never bothered to tell the authorities, our government, or the victim's families the truth." The president paused to take a breath before continuing.

Severe felt his temperature rising steadily, his anger growing with every second.

"Then, when one of your necromancers destroys the great city of New York, we defend ourselves, completely taken off guard by the existence of magic, and your people take it as an opportunity to attack us." The American said, his voice laced with fake emotions. He wiped an imaginary tear away, "That isn't to say that you haven't suffered losses as well, the necromancers for instance…"

Severe almost strangled him then and there. The necromancers, who were determined to sty out of the fighting and stay peaceful, had barricaded themselves into their temples. It was a slaughterhouse when the Americans, Japanese, and British joined up and bombed their temples. No necromancer remained, and so a whole line of magic was destroyed.

"…But despite all that you have inflicted on the human race, we're still willing to offer you our peace." The American took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Severe. Severe had lost his composed look and was now fuming as he sloppily opened the paper. Written in big bold letters at the top were the words,

**Terms of Surrender **

The American handed Severe a pen, smiling that sly, smug, smile, "If you sign this Grand Mage, we will go back to living peacefully. You're people will be given a certain portion of land to live in where you may practice your talents."

Severe looked at the paper. It was the best type of paper. It was old-ish, and faded. It smelled of dust and the way the world smelled after a rain. It was the type of paper used to change the world.

Severe felt the mortal's eyes on him as he considered his options. He could always kill them, but that would accomplish nothing to help with the war. The only option was to save his broken society. Him. The Grand Mage. He sighed and reminded himself that his title was empty. Devoid of meaning. Who was he to turn over his whole world to these terms of living?

But if he didn't, then these savages, these _mortals _would surely crush them and destroy every trace of magic in the world.

The paper was staring at him too. Urging him to write on it's beautiful surface. The pen practically humming with energy. This pen wanted to change the world. It wanted this world to end. Severe drove the pen down onto the paper, nearly tearing it, and scratched his signature onto the paper that changed the world forever.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 (approximately 100 thousand years later ):**

Echo sniffed the night air, and her cold nose was gratified with a wave of amazing aromas. She sighed and ushered Dena's kids back to the campfire. The whole caravan had gathered around the little ring of rocks that contained the fire, and the energetic flames illuminated their faces.

The two twins squealed at the smell of fresh bread and the sounds of the soup boiling and popping in the pot. Echo groaned with exhaustion and gratefully sat on a rock close to the warmth of the fire. Dena was snuggling her newborn girl and cooing at her.

Echo had been stuck with babysitter duty ever since she hit age 14. Annete, the caravan leader, had told Echo that it was her duty to take care of Dena's kids, especially since she didn't have any magic.

"Echo. Are you alright girl?" Echo looked over to see the caravan cook, Gordon, a large and muscular man. No one knew exactly what he was, some sort of mix. He wasn't descended from sorcerers, that was for sure.

"Yeah, I'm good." Echo mumbled, "Watching after the kids is exhausting." Echo said loudly, staring pointedly at Dena, who continued playing with the baby in her arms, choosing to ignore her.

Gordon let a thunderous laugh out of his lungs and said in a humorous voice, "They're just little. Give them a few years and they'll be babysitting little Ava over there." He pointed the spoon he was using at the baby in Dena's arms.

Echo rolled her eyes, "Max and Richard are like, 10. They can take care of themselves."

"They're actually seven." Gordon said, looking at her with warning.

"So? Nadar was already a master with a sword when he was seven, these kids don't even know how to cook." Echo said, getting annoyed, "They just play all day."

Gordon started to admonish her before Dena stood up and flew over to Echo. She patted Echo on the shoulder and said in a sweet voice, "Don't worry honey, it isn't your fault that you don't have magic. These kids are special. They need to be treated with care. Us pixies are almost extinct you know. You're more… expendable." Dena smiled and then started making faces for the baby pixie.

Echo balled her fists and gritted her teeth, just about ready to rip Dena limb from limb. She felt Gordon's large hand on her shoulder and him whispering, "Why don't you go tell Leech that dinner's ready hmmm? We don't want another fight between you two."

Echo stormed away from the campfire and towards the wagon that was the coldest, and most distant one in the whole caravan. This was the wagon that belonged to Dr. Leech.

It was old and rotting, with planks of wood missing and rips in the canvas top. The reason Leech's wagon was so distant was because it always smelled of rotting flesh.

Echo stomped up to the wagon and pounded on the door, "Leech! Dinner's ready!"

Leech said in a soft, but soothing tone, "Come in Echo…" Leech's voice was like honey, you just couldn't get enough of it.

Echo sighed and reluctantly stepped in the wagon, letting the smell of rotting flesh envelope her, and looked at the corpse Leech had begun to dissect. It was a young boy of about five years. He had been dead for some time, his flesh smelled of chemicals and rotten meat.

His stomach had been cut open to reveal the organs within. All around him on the small table were stubs of candles that illuminated his waxy, pale skin.

In the shadows, a hunched figure was bent over, examining something. Echo felt her heart pound in her ears, she always was nervous around Leech.

The figure extended it's long arms and attempted to stand to it's full height. It reached the ceiling before it's spindly legs had fully straightened. It lurched towards her and said in that same sweet voice,

"What do you think of my new specimen Echo?" The candle light barely reached the figure, but Echo could just make out Leech's long, spider-like hands, stretching towards the light.

Echo glanced at the corpse again before coughing and saying, "I don't think it's very pleasant to see before dinner."

Leech sighed, "hmmmm…. perhaps you are correct Echo. Very well, let's go to the campfire. I'm starving."

Echo gratefully jumped out of the wagon and sucked in large amounts of fresh air. She heard the footsteps of Leech behind her and turned to see the Crenga looking down at her with it's long, pale mask.

The mask was as white as bone, with small black dots outlining where the eyebrows and eye sockets would be on a normal human. In place of where the eyes should have been, the mask had dark lenses that reflected Echo's face back into them. There was no indication as to where the Crenga's mouth might be, but Echo hoped it was somewhere near where normal human's mouths were.

Leech was one of the last known Crenga living, and had taken after one of it's very old ancestors, Dr. Nye. It was the best doctor that Echo knew, even though it always creeped people out before helping them.

Echo sat down on the same rock as before and looked up at Gordon as he gave her a wooden bowl of stew.

"Thanks" She muttered and started eating. Dena was still fawning over the baby, trying to get her to eat some food as her sons, Max and Richard, tried to see who could fly closest to the fire.

Echo grabbed the kids and tossed them down onto the rock. She gave the pair her best evil eye and said gravely, "I've had to spend all this time babysitting your asses. The least you can do is keep them unburnt."

Max giggled and hugged Echo's leg, "I looooooovvvveeee you Echo! So can we please do it? Pleeeeeeaaaassssee?" He whined, trying to pull the puppy dog eyes on her.

She scowled at him and said, "Sit down and eat."

The two pouted and sat down on the dirt and slurped their soup. Dr. Leech took his food back to his wagon where he could eat without his mask. Echo sighed. Leech scared Dena. And Dena would never taunt or argue with Echo when Leech was around. Leech assumed the role of her guardian. No one else thought it was a good idea, seeing that Leech was so interested with dissecting things, so Echo had become the Caravan's orphan.

"Hey Echo." A low voice said from behind her. She turned around to see Nadar. Her heart skipped a beat. Nadar was several years older than her, but she still had a huge crush on him. He had dark skin and a dark eye. He had an eye patch where the other eye should have been. He had lost it when he was young.

"Uh- Hi Nadar!" Echo said, smiling. Nadar grunted and sat next to Gordon, across from her.

Nadar was an earth elemental. He was in charge of security in the caravan and was their best fighter.

"Are you ready for Annete's story?" Nadar asked Echo, looking at her while eating his soup.

Echo shrugged, "They're all about the same people. Skulduggery this, Valkyrie that. They weren't real anyways. Everyone knows they're just myths. No one could save the world that many times."

Nadar frowned, "I think they actually were real."

"Of course they were real." A old voice calls from the closest wagon. Echo sighed with frustration. The last thing she needed was Annete on her case.

Anette climbed out of her wagon and shuffled forward, squinting at Echo. She was hunched over and her hair hung limply from her flaking scalp. Anette was a witch. Or mostly a witch. After the war between magic and mortals, the magical creatures had interbred to survive. Nadar was part witch as well, but he was mostly of mage desent.

This had caused mages' to lose the need of taken names. Elementalists couldn't use all four elements, and mages' hit their surge sooner. In turn, some species, such as hags, evolved into pixies and other creatures. That is, according to Annete.

Annete settled down and smiled at Echo, "Did I tell you how Skulduggery and Valkyrie stopped the mortals from gaining magic?"

Echo sighed, "Yes Ann… Probably a hundred times."

Annete ignored her and cleared her throat, starting the story. Max and Richard immediately sat up straighter, because they loved Skulduggery Pleasant.

When Annete started talking about how Valkyrie Cain travelled to an alternate dimension, Echo started to listen. She loved the ideas of alternate universes. That maybe, in another world, the sorcerers had won the war.

Where she might be magic, or still have parents. Where she could live like the mortals, in houses. Not on the road.

"Ann!" Richard whined from his spot on the floor, "What happened to Skulduggery Pleasant?"

Annete smiled and said, "Well, Skulduggery turned into Lord Vile when Valkyrie Cain was killed, and Valkyrie's son, Grand Mage Severe locked him up. No one knows where he's hidden, or if he's still Vile. That's all a mystery."

Echo snorted and got up to clean her dish. Dena smiled up at her as she passed, "Echo, here." She dumped her dishes into Echo's hands turned back to chat with Gordon.

Echo fumed for a bit before leaving the stack next to Dena and walking towards Leech's wagon.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Leech had a policy about talking to it while it was eating. Stand close enough for it to hear, but far enough so you couldn't see it's face. Did Echo get curious? Of course. She was a teenage girl. But she had seen the wrath of Leech, and she didn't want that horrible creature directed at her.

"Leech?" She called, waiting for a response.

"You may approach." Leech said in a soft voice that somehow travelled all the way to Echo's ears.

She walked to the back of the wagon to see the Crenga resting it's head against the side of the wagon, the stars reflecting into the lenses that covered it's eyes.

"Can you tell me a story?" Echo asked softly.

Leech turned it's head to her and said, "That's Annete's job, not mine."

"But I've heard all of her stories before. I'm sick of them. Tell me something I haven't heard before."

Leech paused, before saying in a dangerous tone, "You want to know about the mob don't you?"

Echo blushed a bit, "Yeah…" She said in a pleading, yet cautious voice.

Leech sighed and looked at the sky, as if pleading to somehow get out of this situation. When he realized that Echo wasn't leaving, he sighed again and began:

_Leech was about 80 when it happened. It had become the town's doctor, and the mortals accepted it. They came to Leech with problems and it always did it's best to fix their suffering. _

_Leech was a moderately friendly Crenga, it didn't speak much, but most Crenga were like that. _

_The mayor of the town was very anti-magic. He told Leech that it was unnatural, and that Leech was to leave. Leech started to pack up, but many of the villagers implored him to stay, due to the plague that was spreading throughout the mortal villages. _

"Wait." Echo said, frowning, "This sounds like what Annete talked about, with the rats spreading the plague and everything…"

Leech looked at her before saying, "It wasn't exactly like that, it killed less people because there were less people living. Also, the humans from thousands of years ago already knew what this disease was. But the mortals were much more advanced back then. They had carts without horses or mules pulling them called cars, and flying ships called airplanes. After we set off Dr. Nye's bomb that wiped out all of the mortal's technology, they regressed back into a second dark age."

Echo rolled her eyes, "I already know all of this, Annete made us memorize it."

Leech nodded and continued with it's story:

_Leech, out of guilt, agreed to stay and help with the disease that was rapidly spreading through the town. The mayor turned a blind eye to the fact that Leech had stayed when Leech saved the mayor's wife. _

_Soon, only 65 people were dead and the remaining town was alive and healthy. The mayor however, still wanted Leech out of his town, and started spreading rumors. _

_People in the town came to believe that the Crenga had brought on the plague purposefully so that the town would keep Leech safe. _

_Unaware of these rumors, Leech kept healing and helping. This went on for months, and with Leech's indifference, it never wondered why the townspeople glared at it with disgust, or why it wasn't allowed to attend the mass funeral held for all of those that had perished from the plague. It simply assumed that because of it's magical background._

_One cold, rainy, miserable day, a messenger from the next village came to tell the mayor that a new plague was approaching, one that killed whole cities, leaving the corpses to rot in the streets._

_As Leech prepared for the oncoming plague, researching and testing, the townspeople prepared to kill the Crenga, sure that it was the one that had brought this fortune upon them._

_Leech continued to work, shut up in it's house, working day and night to save the townspeople. Unaware of the danger that was approaching it._

_It was twilight when Leech saw the mob. It began to pack it's things, it's medicine, experiments, and equipment. By the time it was done, the townspeople were almost upon it._

_Leech made use of it's long legs and ran as fast as it could. Unfortunately, the townspeople had anticipated this and had dug holes around Leech's house. Leech screamed with pain as it twisted it's ankle, collapsing onto the wet ground, looking up with fear at the faces illuminated by the fire._

_The mayor had the blacksmith shackle it, and it was dragged to the town square. A large pole had been erected in the center, with piles of wood surrounding it._

_With dread, Leech realized that it was where it would be burnt alive, for the people it had tried to save, and protect. _

_But the townspeople didn't want it to end so quickly, no they didn't. They tied it to the stake, and formed a line in front of it, all armed with sharp stones and pieces of broken glass. _

_Leech pleaded, reminding them of the people it had saved, it yelled, it threatened, but that didn't stop the rocks and glass from tearing it apart. Most of the people targeted the Crenga's face, ripping the flesh from it's bones, leaving deep scars and wounds. It was a miracle that Leech's eyes remained intact. _

_After days of this torture, the townspeople reluctantly agreed that it was time to end their revenge on the Crenga and burn it. _

Echo asked in a horrified whisper, "How did you escape?"

Leech looked at her sharply and said impatiently, "Maybe if you wouldn't interrupt me, we'd get farther in this story."

Echo looked down, faking an ashamed look and muttered, "Sorry."

_The night before Leech's execution, it was screaming, determined to at least rob the townspeople of their sleep before it was sent into the next world._

_It was nodding off into it's last sleep when a hooded figure approached it. _

"_Are you death?" It rasped, it's vocal chords raw with pain._

"_No." The woman whispered, "I'm here to keep you alive. You're a Crenga yes?"_

_Unable to speak, Leech simply nodded it's weary and ruined head._

"_I'm Anette. I'm starting a caravan, and I want to save you."_

"_Well, I'm in no position to refuse your kind offer." Leech whispered, feeling hope for the first time in days._

_Anette quickly cut Leech's bonds and helped it back to her wagon. She was an aging woman and Leech swore it's loyalty to her and her caravan as long as she would live. _

"See why I don't tell the stories Echo?" Leech said smoothly, the pale wood of Leech's mask facing her.

"And that's why you wear the…" Echo gestured to the mask.

Leech nodded thoughtfully, "Yes. My face is still too hideous for the children in this caravan. And the people outside of the caravan." Leech added.

"Oh." Echo said. They sat in silence for a while, before Echo asked, "And what happened to the village?"

Leech sighed and said, "The plague struck and killed every man, woman and child."

Echo nodded solemnly. The fire had died away and only a few embers still glowed warmly in the fire pit.

Leech grunted and stood to it's full height, "I'd better finish my experiment, before the specimen rots."

Echo nodded and took this as a request for her to leave. She headed back to the wagon that she and Anette shared.

Later that night, when Anette had blown out the candle that lit the wagon, and Echo was in her warm bed, she whispered,

"Anette?"

"Yes child?"

"Why does Leech like me? Why does it treat me like family if I'm a mortal? And if mortals did so much harm to him?" Echo choked halfway through, and almost lost it.

Anette, sensing her distress, swooped out of her bed and patted Echo on the arm, "I honestly don't know. But the fact that it does like you shows how unique you are. A mortal that could make even the most anti-mortal creatures care for her."

"I don't want to be a mortal." Echo muttered sleepily.

"No mortal does child…" Anette said, and then drifted back to her bed.

* * *

**Hello, I know there hasn't been much action so far... Apologies for that. The reason for that is that I want to take this story slowly. You may have also concluded that I've changed quite a bit in the ways of magic. I figured you guys might like to see what a dystopian Skulduggery Pleasant world might lead to. **

**I'll try to update as often as possible, but it depends how motivated or creative I am at the time. My brain can be very uncooperative. **

**Yours truly, **

**Carrot**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

The next day, Anette announced that they would travel to the next town to sell their goods.

So Echo was in charge of keeping the twin pixies out of trouble and making sure they didn't get run over by the wagons.

Most had retreated to the warmth of their wagons, except Nadar, Echo, and the twins.

Echo definitely wasn't staying outside because she wanted to be near Nadar. No way. He was just the only boy around her age that she knew… and the warmth in her stomach she felt when she looked at him totally wasn't because she liked him. Absolutely not.

But she did have a good excuse for being out in the cold, the twins had decided to play their favorite game, Skulduggery versus the bad guy.

"Ok, you be Serpine, I'll be Skulduggery!" Max said happily.

"What? No!" Richard shouted, "I was the vampire last time! _You _be Serpine!"

Echo rolled her eyes and glanced shyly at Nadar. He was staring ahead icily, eyes on the road. He felt her eyes on her and looked back. She quickly averted her gaze and acted like she was ignoring him.

"But you look more like Serpine!" Max said angrily, "Come on!"

Echo sighed loudly, "Guys, you're identical twins for heaven's sake. I'll choose who gets to be Serpine and Skulduggery."

The twins pouted as she said in a tired voice, "I'm thinking of a number between one and five."

"Three." Max said angrily, still glaring at the ground.

"Yeah three." Richard said, imitating his brother.

"No Richard! Echo! RICHARD'S COPYING ME!" Max screamed.

Richard stuck out his tongue and Echo growled with frustration, "Oh god. I swear…"

Nadar chuckled and walked over to the three of them, "Here, let me help."

He whispered in Richard's ear and Richard's eyes widened with fright.

Nadar straightened up and smiled deviously at Echo before asking Richard, "Alright, which number will you choose?"

"T-two." Richard said, still scared.

Echo smiled and said, "Sorry Richard, Max gets to be Skulduggery Pleasant."

Richard moaned and Max cheered, and the two went off to play.

Echo turned to Nadar, "What did you tell him?" She asked, smiling.

"I told him that if he didn't do what you told him to, then the Faceless Ones would blast him to bits where he stood."

Echo burst out laughing. Neither of them were religious, but Dena insisted that the kids learned the basics of worshipping the Faceless Ones. When it came to her own children, Dena taught them to love and fear the Faceless Ones.

Echo and Nadar never got into religion, they didn't want to worship the same gods that the mortals did, even though Dena told them that it started out as a religion practiced by mages.

According to her, the mortals had adopted the religion when mages told them about the dark gods. Dena wasn't crazy like some mortals though, she knew that the Faceless Ones were better off trapped in their horrible reality.

"So," Nadar said, looking at her, "You're birthday is coming up right?"

She blushed. A silly part of her squealed happily at the fact that he remembered, "Yeah. A week or so…"

"Any idea on what you want to do?" Nadar asked casually, looking off where Richard and Max were wrestling.

"No… I don't think we're going to celebrate." Echo said with a sigh, trying to keep back a wave of self pity, "After all, I'm the expendable mortal."

Nadar chuckled and said, "Don't let Dena get to you Echo, she's just insecure."

Echo grunted, "Who isn't?" She shivered and forced herself to keep walking and stay in the middle of the creaking wagons.

Nadar wrapped his arm around her shoulders and sighed, "I'm bored of this Echo."

Echo looked up at him, the places his skin touched her's was on fire, she felt alive, "What?"

"I mean, we've been in this caravan for our whole lives. You're the only teenage girl I know. In Anette's tales, Valkyrie and Skulduggery were always meeting new people. I haven't met another elemental in twelve years."

Echo nodded, "I know what you mean. This world is too big and spread out and our community is too small."

Nadar stopped and turned to face her, "Echo, when you turn 18 in one week, will you do me the honor of joining my new caravan? You'll be an adult, and you can do whatever you wish then."

Echo grinned and said happily, "Yes! I'd be honored!"

Nadar's face split into a grin, the muscles in his cheeks raising his eyepatch.

With their fingers intertwined, they continued down the well worn path, the village lights twinkling in the distance.

* * *

They reached the village that night and Dena scolded Echo for how dirty the twins were. Echo just rolled her eyes and went off to help Gordon with dinner.

Gordon hummed as he sliced vegetables that were years old, but still fresh thanks to the old magic of symbols. Most of the writing had been lost, but a few symbols still remained.

Echo wasn't a very good cook, but she was good at handing vegetables to Gordon when he asked for them and talking to him so he could stay entertained.

"...What is the deal Dena anyways? She just so stuck up! I really can't wait to go off with Nadar-"

"Echo!" Gordon said in a frustrated tone, "Will you just go help Leech please?"

Echo shrugged and stalked off to where Leech had set up his wagon.

Leech was bent over, extracting some sort of fluid from the corpse on the table. Echo felt a surge of curiosity. What was behind that mask? Was it so horrifying that not even Dena and Gordon had seen it?

There were pale scars on it's hands, they were deep and looked old.

Leech looked up, "Hello Echo."

That mask. It was her people's fault. _How on earth can he stand me? Knowing my kind did that to him? _

"Is something wrong?" It asked, mild concern in it's voice.

Echo bit back her questions and took a deep breath, "Did I tell you about Nadar and me?"

Leech shook it's head and went back to the fluid.

"Well, Nadar offered to take me with him once I turn 18. Which is in a week."

Leech paused from what he was doing, and asked in a guarded voice, "And where are you going?"

"We're going to start a new caravan." Echo said happily.

Leech's hand clenched the vile of liquid, its hand was turning white, "Oh?" It said in a strained tone, looking down at it's work, "Why don't you stay here?" It jammed the bottle into it's pocket and looked up at her, and Echo imagined a disappointed expression on the Crenga's face.

"I just need to out and see the world. I'm almost a grown up and I'm tired of looking after children and arguing with Dena. I want my own wagon, and I want to see new places." Echo said defensively, looking at Leech like a guilty criminal.

Leech nodded and looked at her a little while longer before saying, "Alright."

Echo blinked. She hadn't expected explaining her choices to Leech to be so easy, "Really?"

Leech turned away from her and resumed working, "Yes. I may not be happy about it, but you're ready to get out of here."

Echo felt warmth rise into her chest. She made her way around the dead, pickled things and hugged the Crenga. Leech stiffened and looked down at her, "Uh.." It said.

She looked up at it and stepped away, "Sorry." She muttered, feeling a little embarrassed.

Leech coughed, "It's fine, I'm just not a very huggable being."

**Echo smiled and nodded. She was getting out of here, and with Nadar, life would be perfect.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Echo stood at the stand, listening to a man yell at her for travelling with magic folk. Members of the caravan took shifts at the stand, and even though Echo's shift had started five minutes ago, the frosty, cold air had already made her fingers go numb.

The stand was set up in the center of town, with Nadar's wagon stationed behind it. Since Nadar was in charge of guarding the caravan's valuables, it was decided that he could keep the trading goods in his wagon.

The Caravan sold a variety of things, from jars of what Dena told the customers was pixie dust, to meat pies and valuable spices.

Everyone contributed to the trading in the Caravan. Gordon made food, Annete, with her knowledge of herbs and history, sold small stories she wrote by hand and herbs and spices. Nadar made things out of clay, him being an earth elemental and all. Leech sold body parts, medicines, and various liquids. And Echo did her best to paint things. Echo's paintings were at best mediocre, and she hardly ever made any money off of them.

Echo brought her attention back to the man before her, yapping his head off, "-They probably stole you at birth, poor thing. I bet they beat you a lot huh? Well, that's what you get stupid girl. People like you are the reason that scum like Mages still exist."

Echo looked at the man with boredom. She'd heard this a hundred times and more. The man had balding red hair and he had a nose that looked like someone had squashed it on and let it slide down farther than was natural before deciding he was complete.

"-You know what? Your parents probably sold you. Yeah. Those magic scum are so eager to accept-"

"Look." Echo growled impatiently, "Are you going to buy something or not?"

The man looked surprised that someone would dare interrupt him. He stood there for fifteen seconds, his mouth flopping open and closed again, but with no sound to disturb the quiet afternoon.

Then, he finally said, "How dare you! You're just a little-"

Echo said in a deep, intimidating voice, "Sir, I will be very civil towards you, but please, just buy something or leave."

He scowled and marched off.

Echo sighed. Two more days until her birthday and then she wouldn't have to put up with this.

Then, a middle-aged man with brown skin and black eyes stepped up to the stand. She looked at him. Something was odd about him. She couldn't place it, but he was different from the others. He had an aura around him that made the toughest of men quiver.

"Uh, can I help you?" She asked, shrinking away a bit.

He smiled in a strange, mysterious way, "No, I was just looking around. So nice to meet up with another caravan."

She looked at him for a moment before saying, "Wait, you're magic?"

He tossed his head back and laughed with a deep voice, "Yes. Yes I am. I'm the leader of my caravan."

Echo grinned, "Cool!" She exclaimed, "I'm apart of Annete's group, I don't know if you've met her…"

The man shook his head, "No, but I'd like to meet her. Maybe we could get together sometime."

Echo grinned, "Well, it's my shift, so I can't walk you to the caravan, but we're camped over there." She pointed to the outskirts of the town.

He nodded his head in thanks and started to walk towards the rising smoke from the fire at the campsite.

Echo watched him go and sighed. She bet he had a lot of stories to tell.

After her shift was done, Echo raced back to the caravan to find the man from the other caravan telling stories around the campfire and the twins laughing hysterically.

She looked at Gordon, "Your shift." She said, out of breath from running the whole way.

Gordon sighed unhappily and lumbered down the trail to the town. Echo stole his seat and listened to the man talk.

"…And then I said to the man, you're a tough one, but you scream like a girl." He said, smiling broadly at the twins, who burst out with laughter.

Anette smiled and asked the man, "So Craven, do you have any children? You seem very good with them."

Craven smiled, "Yeah, I've got a girl and a boy. About your age." He said, nodding in Echo's direction.

Echo sat a little straighter, looking pleadingly at Anette. She caught Echo looking at her and gave an amused sigh, then turned back to Craven,

"We've got two young kids and they don't get to meet anyone their age. Can they go with you to meet your kids?"

Craven turned and smiled at Echo, "Of course! Just let me finish this delicious steak and then we'll go."

Echo ran to where Nadar was and grabbed his arm, "Hey! We're going to Craven's caravan to meet kids our age!"

Nadar looked up, surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah!" Echo shouted excitedly.

The two of them raced back to the fire, where Anette and Craven were standing and shaking hands,

"-It was a pleasure meeting with you." Craven finished, smiling kindly.

"Likewise. When are you going to head out?" Anette asked.

"Tomorrow morning. I'm not very popular with the elders here." Craven said, chuckling.

Anette smiled at him and then went into her wagon.

Nadar and Echo walked up to Craven, their feet crunching the crisp, autumn leaves that coated the ground.

Craven turned to them, "Ready?"

Nadar nodded and stood up tall, obviously trying to appear older than he was.

"Good. My caravan's on the other side of town, but if any of the villagers give us trouble, don't hold back." He winked and started walking down the path.

They walked through the village, a few mortals scowled, but mostly, they were ignored. As they reached the end of the village, Echo could see a couple of wagon silhouettes and a fire in the fading night.

Halfway up the hill, Echo spotted a shadow of a person walking among the wagon. She glanced at Nadar, who was putting on his best nonchalant face and acting cool.

She tried to imitate him, keeping her expression blank. They reached the caravan and Craven yelled at the top of his large lungs,

"JULIAN! AMANDA! RAFAEL!"

"WHAT?" An annoyed boy's voice yelled back.

"We've got company!" Craven yelled, then added, "The good type!"

There was a rustling sound in one of the wagons and a kid with spiky blonde hair jumped out, followed by a girl with tanned skin and beautiful dark curls that bounced with every step she took.

Echo glanced at Nadar and was upset to see that he was staring at her, awestruck.

Craven frowned, "Uh Rafael, where's Julian?"

The boy with the spiky hair shrugged, "I think he's sleeping?" He said uncertainly, before flashing Echo a smile.

Echo smiled back, but she was jealous of the girl, Amanda, who seemed to have ensnared Nadar with her good looks.

Craven sighed and stomped off, supposedly to find Julian.

Echo cleared her throat and looked at the two of them, "So… You're Craven's kids?"

Rafael looked at Amanda and they both burst out laughing. Nadar started laughing too, and Echo blushed, wondering what she said.

"Oh no. Amanda's his daughter, but I'm adopted." Rafael said, wiping a tear from his eye and giggling.

"Oh." Echo said, looking down.

"So, what can you guys do?" Rafael asked cheerfully, looking at the two of them.

Nadar grinned and made a fist. A chunk of earth flew up and floated in front of him, "I'm an earth elementalist." He said, grinning.

Rafael laughed and clapped his hands with delight, "Wonderful! I'm a air elementalist." He said happily and sent a bullet of air at the piece of earth Nadar had manipulated, slicing a hole right through it.

Nadar looked at him with awe for a while before turning to Amanda, "What can you do?" He asked, almost eagerly.

Amanda giggled in a cute, girly way that made Echo want to strangle her, "Well, I'm not that great, but I'm a water elementalist." She demonstrated by soaking both Nadar and Echo, and then drying both of them off.

"Anyways, what can _you _do?" Rafael asked, smiling sweetly at Echo.

Echo let out a sigh and looked up at him, "Um, I'm mortal." She said in an emotionless voice.

A look of confusion, then shock flashed across Rafael's face before he said, "Oh, well, do you have any hobbies?"

Echo shrugged, "If looking after hyper seven year olds is a hobby, then yes."

Rafael nodded, "Oh, ok."

Rafael, Amanda, and Nadar started talking, and Echo pretended that she was listening. After a while, Craven came back with a boy around Echo's age, that must have been Amanda's brother. He had long, dark hair, brown skin, and beautiful dark eyes.

Craven smiled down at Nadar and Echo, "This is my son Julian." He said.

"Hi." Julian said, his eyes crinkling with a smile.

"Hey, I'm Nadar." Nadar said, extending his hand.

Julian shook it then turned to Echo and smiled, waiting to hear who she was.

"I'm Echo." Echo said, smiling, and keeping her hands clasped.

Julian smiled and nodded.

The rest of the night was a blur. They stayed in Amanda's wagon, and Echo mostly just listened to them talk.

All they seemed to talk about was how cool it was that they were all elementalists(Julian was a fire elementalist). Eventually, Echo just fell asleep in the floor of the wagon.

When morning came around, Echo quickly ate the oatmeal that has given to her and waited for Nadar to be ready to leave.

"-Echo and I are going to start our own caravan. You guys should join us!" He said enthusiastically.

The others nodded with agreement and Amanda looked shyly up at him, "That sounds amazing Nadar." She said quietly, blushing.

Craven grunted, "Well, we have to go now, the elders has unofficially threatened us and I don't want another issue." He coughed a little, then smiled at the two of them, "Well, it was nice to meet you guys."

Echo nodded and smiled. With that, Craven turned and started packing up equipment.

Echo pulled Nadar away, and started stomping down the hill, her pant legs sticking to her ankles from the wet dew on the grass.

Nadar ran to catch up with her, "Hey Echo! what's wrong?"

Echo just shook her head angrily and continued walking, ignoring him. Nadar stopped and looked at her for a bit before following her back to the caravan.

When they arrived, Gordon was fixing fried eggs for Dena and the kids. Anette looked up from the painting she was working on and smiled, "Well? How was it?"

Echo shrugged, "Fine."

Anette frowned at her. She looked like she was going to say something, but decided against it and cleared her throat, "Well, we have a surprise for you Echo."

Echo looked up curiously, "What?" She asked cautiously.

"Well, since it's almost your birthday, the caravan wanted to give you a sending off gift."Anette said happily.

"What is it?" She asked eagerly.

"Well, we've made quite a lot of money over the last few months, and we're giving the majority of it to you. You can save it for later or go with Leech tomorrow to the festival to get a present." Anette said, smiling kindly.

Echo ran over and hugged her, "Thank you thank you thank you!" She cried happily.

* * *

**Ok guys. I'm sorry this chapter is really bad, I've just been a tad bit bored. I'm sure you're all a little tired of this, the lack of fighting and all that wonderful stuff that makes up fanfiction, but I can promise you that the next chapter will get better. Thank you for actually reading this far, despite the fact that I've basically changed the whole Skulduggery Pleasant world.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What do you think of this one?" Echo shouted over the cheering crowds, holding an ornate mirror.

Leech inspected it before saying, "I don't think it's a good waste of the caravan's hard earned money, that's what I think."

Echo rolled her eyes and moved on to the next booth. It had been a few hours since they had arrived at the festival. Echo felt like an adult, cruising through fancy dresses and beautiful hairpieces, her very own coin pouch filled to the brim.

She loved the festivities. The whole place seemed alive with joy and merriment. Leech, on the other hand, was very uncomfortable and it was on edge, jumping every time someone brushed past it.

"Can we go yet?" Leech moaned as a toddler burst into a screaming fit, spilling his drink all over Leech's long coat.

Echo scowled at him, "You've asked that five times already. I haven't found anything that suites me yet…" She said, turning her attention back to the perfumes she was inspecting.

Leech sighed again, "That may be because you're only looking at things that Dena would use."

Echo frowned, "What?"

Leech took the perfume from Echo's hand and held it right in front of her, "Who do you know that wears perfume?"

Echo paused before muttering unhappily, "Dena."

"And who do you know who likes mirrors, hair clips, hair brushes, makeup, and jewelry?"

Echo scowled, "Ok I get it."

Leech nodded and put the perfume back, "What do you truly want?"

Echo shrugged and kept looking from stall to stall. Leech groaned and followed her unwillingly.

Leech turned it's attention to a mutated sheep on display, muttering possible diseases and illnesses that could have caused it.

Echo ran up to Leech and tugged on it's coat, "Hey, I think I found something!" She said happily, grinning ear to ear.

Leech looked at the long, sharp sword she was holding, "Hmmmm. That's actually cool."

Echo laughed, "Great! I'll get it. Nadar can teach me to use it."

Leech nodded thoughtfully, "Everyone should be able to defend themselves."

Echo looked at the blade a little longer before spending a good amount of money on the sword.

She tucked it into it's sheath and looked at Leech, "I've still got enough to buy a horse."

Leech slouched unhappily, "Fine, let's get this over with."

Echo laughed and started walking towards the stables. Leech tried to follow, but a scantily dressed woman jumped in front of the Crenga and grinned,

"Hey, wanna find somewhere… private?"

Leech pushed past her, and kept walking. The woman giggled and followed it,

"Oh, you're playing hard to get. Don't worry, I'm cheap, and I'm good." She grabbed it's arm.

Leech `looked at her and said in a deep, angry voice, "I'm not a man you silly human."

The woman immediately let go of Leech's arm and backed away, "Uh… What are you?" She asked cautiously.

Leech just kept walking, catching up to Echo who was heading towards a large barn.

The inside of the barn was dark, smelled like manure, and was extremely loud.

"I like that one!" Echo yelled to Leech over the sound of chickens being slaughtered.

She was pointing to a large, muscular, grey mare that was looking at Echo with a daring eye.

Leech shrugged, "Ok, just make it quick please."

Echo nodded and walked purposefully towards the owner.

"I'll pay 17 belks." Echo said in a disdainful voice. Rule one of ripping off a person: act like you're important.

The man frowned, "For her? Nah. 23 belks at the very least."

Echo scoffed, "23? For that flea bag? I'm giving you a good deal sir. You won't find another buyer that'll be as generous as me." Rule number two: make the seller uncertain of the value.

The man scowled, "Flea bag? This mare is purebred. She's been wonderfully groomed and pampered all of her life. I doubt you'll be able to find another horse as fine as her."

Echo snorted, "Oh that's sweet that is. Fine. I'll give 23 belks." She said, handing over the money.

The man gave took the money and then gave led the horse to Echo. Echo grabbed the reigns and walked back to Leech.

"You let him win?" Leech asked with dismay.

Echo grinned, "Nah. I just picked his pocket when he was distracted. He really only got 17 belks."

Leech shook his head, "I saw that, but you gave him money, therefore, you let him win."

Echo stuck out her tongue, "I was being generous. Also, look how pretty she is." Echo said, looking at her beautiful new horse.

Leech shrugged indifferently and started walking towards the exit of the barn. Echo led the horse through the crowd, sometimes leaving a cursing man clutching his toes behind her.

Echo and Leech exited the fairgrounds and wearily walked down the compact dirt path that led to the caravan.

Echo sighed and inhaled deeply. The cold air stung her nose and the smell of wet dirt grass filled her mind, placing a calming sense on her. Then, a whiff of smoke made it's way into her mind.

She looked into the distance where the caravan was, expecting to see a small tendril of smoke rising from the campfire.

Instead, the whole area was dark with smoke. It was thick and black, and looked like it was burning more than wood.

"Leech!" Echo shouted, pointing to the campsite.

Leech looked up and then started running, it's long legs taking huge strides. Echo jumped on her new horse and spurred it on.

Echo's horse was fast, but not as fast as the Crenga.

They raced towards the campsite, a string of thoughts running through Echo's head, _Please Faceless Ones, don't let anyone be hurt… Please, it's my birthday! Thing's like this aren't supposed to happen. _

Echo shook her head firmly, _They're fine Echo, everyone's fine. They're probably making a bonfire for my birthday… Please let that be what's happening._

The cold wind stung her eyes and bit at her flesh, and the smoky air filled her lungs.

_Please._

_Don't_

Echo heard Leech scream as it approached the campsite.

_Let_

Echo dug her heels into the horse's sides, urging it forward.

_Them_

She could smell something else in the air now, the smell of meat.

_Die._

She reached the campsite. Leech was on it's knees, it's spider hands clawing at the ground angrily. Echo didn't want to look at the campsite, her brain screamed for her to turn away, but her eyes slowly looked up to where the caravan had camped, a horrible fascination in her heart.

The first thing she processed was the burnt wagons and slaughtered horses. The horse's corpses were strewn in bits and pieces, obviously ripped apart violently.

Then the bodies. Echo slowly sank to her knees. Oh god, the bodies. One was burnt completely, only pale, white bones.

Echo let out a small whimper. Those bones were only tall enough to be Gordon's. The whimper grew to a loud whine as she moved her eyes to the next bodies.

Dena's wings were covered with blood and no longer attached to her back. She had no eyes. She had no arms. Echo started to howl with grief.

There was more, the twins and the baby hadn't been spared either. There was no more flesh on them, only the red muscle underneath.

Then Anette. She had been hanged from a nearby tree, her neck broken and her eyes glossy and dead.

"No." Echo whispered as she saw the last body. Half of it was burnt, but Echo already knew who it was.

Nadar's eyepatch had slipped off, and his empty eye socket gazed at her, his mouth was slightly open. He was still on fire. He was still burning. He smelled like the bacon Gordon used to cook.

Echo vomited, tears streaming down her cheeks, mixing with the pale liquid coming out of her mouth.

"NOOOOO!" She wailed angrily, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Leech just stood there. Echo couldn't understand what it was feeling. The mask covered everything.

All of a sudden, Leech hissed, "Quiet. Now."

Echo silenced her sobs and slowly stood up, making her way to where Leech was.

Leech grabbed her hands and pulled her behind a tree. Echo was about to ask it what was going on, but Leech held up one long finger.

Then Echo heard it. Voices.

"-I swear. I heard something!" Cried a nasal voice

"Fine. Let's check. But then we have to go. The commander wants a report."

Echo heard her horse neigh as two pairs of footsteps approached her.

_Oh no! Not my horse! I just got her… _Echo's shocked brain immediately thought.

"There! It was just a stray horse." Muttered one of them.

"But-" The nasal voice said doubtfully, "I'm pretty sure it was a human."

"It was a horse. Come on. We're already going to be late."

The nasal voice sighed and said, "Yeah. Ok."

The footsteps faded and finally, Leech let go of her arm. Echo stumbled without the Crenga's support and fell to the ground.

Leech was by her side in an instant, gently lifting her and carrying her to her horse.

"Leech…" Echo muttered, her words slurred, "Please tell me this is just a dream."

Leech sighed heavily and said, his voice dead with grief, "You're in shock. Just go to sleep Echo. We need to be quiet."

Echo hiccuped and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Her brain must have decided that it was too much, because she only dreamt of peaceful, calm moments.

* * *

**A.N.: Well? How do you feel? Shocked, repulsed, gloomy, evilly delighted, humorous? Did I do a good job? Do you hate me? Do you love me? I personally didn't like writing this, so sad. But stories must have plots and characters must sacrifice themselves to the gods of plot, no? Anyways, I do have a plot and thank you for reading this far. **

**\- The Captain Carrot of the Carrot Cavalry.**


	7. Chapter 6

"Echo."

Leech's voice drifted into Echo's mind, and she slowly woke up. It was dark, and hundreds of stars in the twilight sky.

Echo groaned and sat up, "Leech. I had a horrible nightmare." Echo muttered sleepily.

Leech stayed quiet. Echo looked around, "Leech, where are we?" She asked cautiously.

"A couple of miles from the town." Leech said in a flat voice, "We'll be setting up camp soon. Your horse is tired."

Echo frowned, "What? But it was a dream…"

Leech sighed and looked away, "No Echo. It wasn't."

Echo shook her head, her throat clenching, "No… This wasn't supposed to happen… It was my birthday. Nadar and I were going to start a family!"

Leech remained silent, which allowed Echo's mind to recall the image of the wrecked campsite. She took in a shocked breath,

"The twins! Dena! Gordon! Ava! Ava was a _baby! _And Anette…" Echo's voice trembled and she broke down sobbing.

Leech remained silent, allowing Echo to continue mourning. By the time they stopped for the night, Echo had run out of tears. Her eyes were red and raw. Her voice was raspy from her moaning.

Leech had tied the poor, tired mare to a small sapling. The cold, wet ground made Echo shiver as Leech took care of the horse.

No fire warmed them that night. Leech didn't want to risk it, in case they were being followed. Echo stared at a small and wounded ant as it scrambled along, trying to keep up with the steady stream of healthy, purposeful ants.

When Leech's footsteps grew louder, Echo looked up at it, "Leech?" She asked nervously. The Crenga hadn't said anything since Echo had woken up. The mask hid it's expression, but Echo could tell from the way Leech walked, the way it had it's shoulders hunched and it's spider hands clenched that Leech was angry.

Leech looked at her and said in a quiet, emotionless voice, "What Echo."

"I- I mean, who would _do _something like this? They never did anything wrong… The humans and the magic folks haven't been in a war for thousands of years!"

Leech sighed and bent it's long legs to sit on a rock opposite of her, "Echo, I, like you, have no idea who did this, but one thing you should know is that we haven't been at peace. Think about it. Is it peaceful that I was chased from a town where I tried to help in? Is it peaceful that Craven and his caravan were forced to move on because they were magical? Is it peaceful that _any _of us have to move, forced to lead nomadic lifestyles, lest we be chased out by angry mobs? No Echo. This isn't true peace. We, the magical community, haven't had peace since Skulduggery Pleasant abandoned us and unleashed Lord Vile."

Echo stared at her lap as Leech's voice grew more and more venomous. She slowly opened her mouth, and said quietly,

"I'm sorry."

Leech inclined it's head before saying softly, "It's not your fault Echo. You're different. We raised you to think like us. Who knows what you'd be like if we'd left you for the mortals to raise. Your parents may have been decent, but they might have been one of the people who chased me away from my home. You can never tell. To say all mortals are heartless isn't right."

Echo nodded and lay back onto the cold, wet dirt. She looked up at the stars, and imagined Max and Richard playing with Skulduggery and Valkyrie, maybe even solving crimes up wherever they were.

"What are we going to do Leech? Everyone's gone." Echo said, feeling dead inside, and wishing she was dead along with everyone else in her caravan.

Leech sighed heavily and scratched it's long neck, "I was thinking that we should go find Craven's caravan. They only set out yesterday, and if we travel double the amount, we should be able to catch up with them."

Echo sat up and looked at the Crenga, "Do we even know where they're heading?"

Leech nodded, "Craven mentioned last night that he was hoping to find a permanent residence in one of the mountain villages. The king there seems to be lenient towards mages and other mixes of magic."

Echo laughed hollowly, her voice empty and devoid of humor, "It's incredible, just yesterday I was worried about Nadar having a crush on Craven's daughter. And now…"

Leech nodded, it's silhouette framed by the light from the stars and moon.

Echo sighed and stood up, "I'll take first watch. I'm not tired." She muttered, and Leech, still silent, nodded and walked towards where the grey mare was grazing in the frosty grass.

Echo pulled her cloak around her, desperately trying to keep the warmth it provided from slipping away through the little tears and rips in the fabric. She sat on the rock that Leech had been perched upon earlier and shivered as the hard, cold granite sent a shock of cold through her body.

******Soon it would be spring, and the flowers would grow again and the sun would warm the Earth, but Echo felt like the winter would never end, at least, not in her.**


	8. Chapter 6 and a half

Chapter 7:

The next morning arrived quickly and Echo untied her horse at the first signs of dawn. She led it over to where Leech was sleeping, it's mask slightly askew, revealing a scarred bit of pale skin underneath.

Echo stared for a bit, debating whether she wanted to remove the mask or not, the Crenga was fast asleep. It probably wouldn't even notice if she did it carefully. She felt an overwhelming sense of curiosity flow through her and she started to bend down next to it. She felt her heart beat as she extended her hand towards the mask. What would it look like? _Please don't let it wake up…_

She prayed as her hand inched forward. As if her horse knew exactly what she was thinking, it whinnied loudly. Echo quickly drew her hand back as Leech groaned and shifted, slowly waking.

It instinctively reached up for it's mask, and grabbed it with one hand and sat up slowly, "Good morning Echo." It said, securing it's mask, and covering the bit of skin that had been exposed.

"It's not a good morning." Echo muttered, and helped the Crenga to it's feet.

Leech nodded and Echo jumped on her horse. They started walking along the damp, compact dirt trail that would lead them away from their old lives, and to a different one.

* * *

**Gah! I know, wayyyyy too short. :( Sorry about that, I just realized that I forgot to mention those wonderful people who reviewed this story. (And followed/favorited) **

**Viles Apprentice: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

**China sorrows 400: I think that it would be a cool idea to make Tanith's descendent in this book, but, if you're still reading this, Annete isn't as important. Also, she couldn't be her daughter because Tanith's daughter would have died of old age. Love the suggestion though. I'll try to sneak some Tanith in here :P**

**Phoebe Pleasant: Thank you so much! I haven't really given much thought on who is the father, but I'll definitely figure it out for you! **

**Icarustthewallaby: I'm glad you came back too! You're freaking awesome! **

**Again, sorry it's so short. I'm working on the next chapter currently. **


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

_The man walked into the warm tent. It was made of silk, and had many ornate carpets spread thick on the cold ground, providing comfort to whoever stepped foot into it. An old man who dressed finely was in the center of the room, looking at a map that was laid out on a small table. It had pins and little markers on it, like a game board. Except this was no game._

_The man approached nervously, and cleared his throat._

_The finely dressed man turned and glared at the poor, balding man, "What?"_

_The small man cleared his throat and said, "We took out a caravan just north of the village Resilic."_

_A grin spread across the man's fat cheeks, "Well?" He asked excitedly, "What was the number? What species?"_

"_It was a smaller one only 6 members , an old hag, possible giant, three pixies, and an earth elementalist. _

_The man clapped his hands happily, like a small child, "Wonderful! And Ashmera did her part with the other caravan right?"_

_The messenger nodded, "Yes sir. Ashmera told the caravan that just left that the king of the mountain villages was lenient with magicals. They were completely fooled. Scouts report that they are headed that way now."_

_The man chuckled and turned back to the map, "Excellent work. Bring in Ashmera."_

_The messenger nodded and exited the tent. _

_A moment later, a young woman with long, golden locks stepped in. She had two ancient looking swords strapped to her back. They looked like they were from the early 2000s. _

"_Ashmera!' The man said in an Irish accent, "I'm glad to see your missions are going well." He outstretched his pudgy arms to hug her, but she gracefully sidestepped his attempt and said in a controlled voice of a soldier, "Thank you sir." She said emotionlessly, staring straight ahead._

_The man seemed a little offended for a second before saying in a warm tone, "You're descended from the great Tanith Low are you not?"_

_Ashmera kept her gaze emotionless as she said, "If the legends are true sir, then yes. I am."_

_The man smiled broadly and said, "Impressive. Those are her swords then?"_

_Ashmera nodded silently._

_The man nodded, realizing that this was a very one-sided conversation, "Very well. Keep up the good work agent." _

_He handed her a pouch full of money and she took it and put it in her pack. _

_The man admired this beautiful woman. She was tall, muscular, and looked as if the heavens had dropped her from above to taunt men. It was a pity that she was magic._

"_You are dismissed." He said, waving her away._

_She nodded and sharply turned on her heel and silently glided from the room. The best soldier. She was a phantom when it came to hunting prey. Untraceable, silent and invisible. _

_She was valuable, especially with her rare magic, the ability to break bones with a touch of her palm._

_As she exited the tent, many pairs of eyes followed her. Whispers flitted around behind her back, though she heard them all. She was loved and hated here. _

_Ashmera walked confidently to a large, tan stallion and mounted it. The messenger from earlier scurried after her and said in a worried voice, "Do you remember what you need to do?"_

_Ashmera scowled, "Of course. Travel to the mountain villages and make sure the caravan reaches it's destination. Then inform the king, who will then pledge his allegiance to your cause and give you the support of his army."_

_The messenger nodded and backed away as Ashmera rode off, her horse thundering down the wet path._

* * *

**Ohhhh...interesting yes? No? Well then. There. We have a new, defined 'bad guy', (Or _is _she? XD) Tanith's descendent. We also have some weird stuff going on with the mortals. I'll keep on writing, and thanks for the feedback!**

**Lightning Sparks: That would be a plot twist wouldn't it? (Purposefully being vague... :P)**


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Echo scowled as Leech stopped her horse and looked up at her,

"My turn." It said.

Echo pouted, "It's _my _horse."

Leech waved her away, "You haven't even named her yet. Come on. I'm tired of walking."

Echo jumped off and handed it the reins, "I'm going to name her Powder."

Leech nodded and and started riding Powder. Echo walked next to Powder. The sun sent weak and pathetic bits of sunlight towards the ground, but the cold wind swirled all the warmth away.

Echo and Leech kept walking in silence before Echo said, "Let me ride Powder again! My feet are tired."

Leech laughed, "You're kidding me! I went for hours walking and it's only been half an hour!"

Echo scowled, "How do you know that? We haven't made a sundial since this morning and we don't have an hourglass!"

Leech groaned, "Please Echo?"

Echo pretended to ponder it for a moment, "Fine. Tell me a story!"

Leech sighed with exasperation and looked at her, "Fine. What do you want to hear?"

Echo paused for a second before saying eagerly, "What about how you found me."

Leech shook it's head, "I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear that story Echo."

Echo scowled, "I deserve to know the truth. All I was ever told was that my parents died."

Leech looked straight ahead and said coldly, "We've been through too much lately Echo. Drop the subject now."

"But-"

"I said," Leech looked at her, it's voice full of anger, "Drop it."

Echo stopped in her tracks and stared at the Crenga. It had never raised it's voice with her. She stared at it as it continued to ride Powder, oblivious to her surprise.

A moment later, she reluctantly followed Leech, and pondered it's reaction. Leech had been the one to find Echo, and no one else in the caravan had known where she had come from except Anette. Anette, being Anette, always changed to subject to Skulduggery Pleasant or how the world had been like before the war.

And she never pushed for the truth. What she had been told was just enough for Echo to feel mildly curious, but not very eager to know.

The caravan was made up of Annete and Leech. Dena, Gordon, and Nadar hadn't joined yet.

They were stopped by a town and an old man asked them to take her in. He said that her parents had died in a local brawl and that he was a close friend of them. He didn't want to keep her because he was near the end of his life and couldn't take care of her.

But Echo was sure something was being kept from her. Who were her parents? Were they nice? What did they look like? What were their names? Why did they insist she be called 'Echo'? What village was she from?

All of this spun through Echo's head as she walked, one foot in front of the other, the thick soles of her rawhide boots making shallow prints in the firm, damp ground. She followed the soft prints that Powder's hooves made.

After a long time, Leech stopped Powder and climbed off of her, and offered Echo the reins. It didn't say anything, just kept walking after Echo had control of the horse. Echo bit her lip with worry as she watched Leech. What had _really _happened? Why was Leech so reluctant to share it, and was it so angry with her that it wouldn't even _speak _to her?

She sighed and mounted Powder and flicked the reins, and poor, tired Powder grunted and started walking slowly. The sun was beginning to set, and as it descended, the wind picked up, it's howling growing louder and louder. Echo's brown, messy hair was being whipped around, and bits of loose sand hit her face, and got caught in her eyelashes.

She rubbed her eyes with one hand and held the reins in the other while she got the sand out of her eyes.

"Echo," Leech said with mild excitement, "Look!"

Echo looked up with watery eyes at where the Crenga was pointing, "What?"

"A campfire, over there in the distance." Leech said, walking back to where Powder was. It pointed at a small light in the distance, with a plume of smoke coming off it.

"Do you think it's Craven?" Echo asked excitedly, her face flushed.

"Can't tell from here…" Leech muttered under it's breath before starting walking again. Echo spurred Powder and trotted alongside Leech,

"How far do you think it is?" She asked, looking at the fire in the distance from the slope they were on.

Leech shrugged, "Maybe four, five miles." It said, "Shouldn't take that long. But just in case it isn't Craven, we need to use caution. That means that we need to keep quiet and get off the trail."

Echo nodded and climbed off Powder and led her off the trail, where the ground was softer and small, scruffy sagebrush grew plentifully.

Leech walked farther off the path and Echo followed. Echo tried her best to navigate Powder through the numerous gopher holes in the dark. The last thing she needed was for Powder to twist her ankle.

After two hours of walking, Echo was able to make out several figures seated around the campfire.

She squinted and she could just make out Craven's cheery face and Amanda's angelic eyes.

"It's them." She whispered to Leech. It looked at her and then nodded, "Then you can go tell them we're here." It said, speaking normally.

"Craven!" She yelled, cupping her hands so her voice would carry.

She saw Craven's figure jump a little, and he wildly looked around.

"It's Echo! From Anette's caravan" She shouted, and Craven immediately relaxed a little.

"Oh!" He said, finally seeing them, "Nice to see you again Echo, who's that? And where's the rest of your caravan?"

Echo started walking down the slope towards Craven's caravan and Leech trailed behind like a shadow.

"This is Leech." Echo said as she neared the campfire, "It's a Crenga. As for our caravan, well, it's a long story."

Craven smiled at Leech and looked at Echo with worry, "Is everyone alright? What happened?"

Echo sighed and started telling him the story. When she got to the part when they found the ruined caravan, she started to break down and Leech took over, telling Craven what had happened point by point with it's sweet, warm voice.

When they had finished, Amanda, who had been sitting there the whole time, had her hands covering her mouth with horror, her eyes wide with shock,

"Even Nadar?" She whispered with dread, her eyes pleading for Echo to say he was alright.

Echo was about to answer, but Leech cut in, "Everyone was killed but us."

Craven stood up and said gravely, his usually sparkling eyes were serious and sad, "I'm so sorry for your loss. I'd be happy to let you two join us. Leech, you can sleep in Rafael's wagon, I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing with Julian, and Echo, you can share with Amanda. That is, if you wish to travel with us."

Echo nodded, "Thank you Craven."

Craven smiled sadly, "Of course. We need to look after each other yes? There are only a few of us left."

Echo smiled and nodded, but on the inside, she felt sick. She wasn't one of them, she was just a mortal.

* * *

**Thank you for all of you who've read this far, and reviewed.**

**Icarusthewallaby: I'm so happy my stories inspire you! This is what I do after I watch something I love. I visualize myself in that world and start thinking how my presence would affect the books/movies/whatever. Or, you can always think how a character would respond to something happening in their world (Ex: The mortals find out about magic and declare war ;)). I hope this helps! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Happy writing!**

**Chocolate Minion: I'm glad your enjoying it! After I read your review, I thought to myself, _Yeah Carrot, what IS up with Far From Godliness? _So I reread it and I almost cried. I'm going to redo Far From Godliness (For the third time) and make it more engaging and give it a solid plot to follow.**

**Galaxy Seven: Glad you like it, I don't plan on making this a crossover, but thanks for the suggestion. Also, all deaths that happen in this are either for plot purposes or because I'm in a bad mood.**


	11. Last Chapter: The Beginning of the End

**A.N.: **

**Chocolate Minion: I'm glad you liked it! I've got a whole plot and everything planned :D (Unlike last time... I was just winging it...)**

**Megsygirl: Awww :) Thanks! I'm glad you think it's so good, but I wouldn't say I'm better than you at writing, you're pretty talented too.**

* * *

**Chapter 9 (1 year later):**

Echo was in her wagon. It was dark and only a thin stream of sunlight penetrated the thick blankets she had placed over the windows. The sunlight bounced off of a mirror with a large crack down the middle, and it's reflection shone on Echo's sleeping face.

She frowned and squinted at the ray of sunlight, then at the mirror. She groaned and stumbled to her feet. Her legs were weak and almost collapsed as soon as she put weight on it.

She half stumbled, half fell into the chair in front of the vanity that served as a desk in the cramped wagon. She breathed shallowly as she looked at herself in the cracked mirror.

The girl who looked back at her had waxy, pale skin. Echo's skin used to be a healthy tan. Her hair had grown lank and greasy, the beautiful brown hair that she had at a time was a distant memory.

Dark shadows draped her eye sockets, dulling her once bright, light brown eyes so they barely gleamed. Her face had adopted a pained and defeated look that never changed. Why should it? After what happened, she deserved to look like this.

All signs of health was gone from her face. Echo sighed unhappily as she stared a bit longer at her face. Suddenly, someone started knocking on the door.

Echo opened her mouth and said in a raspy voice, "Come in." She continued to stare at her cracked reflection as she heard the door open.

"It's me." A soft voice said, his words sweeping over Echo.

She nodded, "What do you need?" She asked quietly, her eyes still glued to the broken mirror.

"I want to talk." He said, and she heard the scraping of him moving a chair across the wooden floor of the wagon.

She sighed and looked at the shadows. She knew he was there, just out of sight, watching her.

"What is there to talk about?" She asked, her voice cracking as she remembered what happened.

"What _isn't _there to talk about?" He joked, his amused voice was forced. Echo went back to staring at her reflection, and the gaunt, broken girl stared back at her, a painful reminder of what she had been through, what she had become.

He sighed and dropped the act, "Look Echo. The others are worried. You haven't left your wagon since-"

Echo snapped her head towards him, "Of course I haven't left! How could I be expected to leave? After-" She choked, remembering what had happened only days ago. She felt her tears streaming freely down her face, and with shame, she hid her head in the crook of her arm.

She felt his hand on her shoulder and his soothing voice calmed her some, "Echo. It's ok," He soothed, slowly rubbing her back, "Just tell me what happened. Point by point."

She hiccuped, "You already know! You were there!" She said, not understanding why he was doing this.

"I know, but sometimes, we need to share our stories. We need to relive our pain to heal. Start from before you met me." He said softly, drawing his hand away from her, and she looked at his pale face,

"Fine." She said weakly, "It started almost a year ago, right after my old caravan was killed…"

* * *

**This is part of the last chapter. Are you confused? Good.**


	12. And Back to Chapter 10

**Chocolate Minion: *Grins deviously* **

**Guest: Yeah, it sucks huh? Glad you're still reading though! **

**Icarusthewallaby: Nope. He he.**

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**Hellsgun EmmortalDead: Glad you like it.**

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**Chapter 10:**

_I followed Amanda to her wagon. _Amanda kept shaking, like she couldn't believe what had happened. I wondered is she liked Nadar as well. She lifted a flap of canvas that covered the entrance to the wagon, and motioned for me to get in.

I smiled gratefully and climbed in. I scooted out of the way and she climbed in after me.

The wagon was very cozy. I'd seen bigger and better wagons, but this was fairly nice. The rough planks of wood that made up the floor were covered with hand woven carpets. They were bright, colorful, and reminded me of a carnival. Her bed was a simple mattress on floor, probably stuffed with straw.

The curved roof of the wagon was covered with tightly tied canvas, and she had hung colorful silk scarves from the support beams.

I smiled at her, "This is really nice." I said, looking around again, the color lifting my mood.

She smiled shyly, and crawled over to a large trunk in the corner, pulling out a cotton shirt and pants, "You can borrow these." She said, offering them to me.

I looked down at my clothes and see that they're soaked, covered in dirt, and ripped in numerous places.

"Yeah, thank you." I said, chuckling.

She giggled, and climbed out of the wagon to give me some privacy. I pulled off my cold, ripped, and dirty shirt and placed it carefully on the bright rug. I pulled on the long, cotton, tunic-like shirt and smiled as the clothing fit perfectly. I slipped out of my leather boots and tugged off my muddy pants, and pulled on the soft worn ones Amanda had given me.

I rolled my old, ruined clothes into a bundle and put my boots back on. I crawled to the entrance of the wagon and called out to Amanda, "I'm done!"

I heard her footsteps approach the wagon through the mud and she looked up at me from the ground, "Do they fit?" She asked, her face a polite mask.

"Yes, thank you so much." I gushed, and she smiled with acknowledgement,

"Of course. You've been through so much, it would be unfair to give you any less." She said, keeping her voice respectful. I smiled and moved so she could get into the wagon. She looked at me and said,

"You can sleep on the bed."

I shook my head and said quickly, "Oh no, I don't need it."

Amanda smirked and said in a sarcastic tone, "Because the floor is much more comfortable. Come on, you're our guest."

I blushed, "But-"

Amanda glared at me sternly, "No. You get the bed tonight." A soft smile played on her lips, just to let me know that she wasn't angry with me.

I grinned, "Ok, but tomorrow you sleep on it ok?"

She smiled, obviously satisfied at the agreement, "Deal."

I chuckled slipped under the thick, woolen blanket and closed my eyes. Amanda scooted over to the oil lamp that casted a dim, flickering light around the wagon and turned it off.

As soon as the slippery darkness of the night engulfed us, I felt my consciousness fall away and surrender to the dull fatigue that seeped throughout my bones.

* * *

I felt the light of morning against my thin eyelids and slowly opened my eyes, wondering how on earth a night could go by so quickly, even if I was sleeping. Amanda had already left, and had left another pair of clothes for me.

I quickly put them on and slipped out of the wagon. The ground was muddy from the dampness in the air. A thick fog had set over the valley, and I stumbled through the muck, trying to find the campfire.

After a few minutes of looking around, I found it, and walked towards the small fire. A woman, probably in her early 300's, was bustling around; her dark hair was tied back in a loose, messy bun.

When she saw me, she brushed her hair back and smiled, "You must be Echo!" She said kindly.

I nodded politely, "Yes ma'am." I said shyly.

"Echo!" A familiar voice said happily. I looked behind me and saw Amanda dressed in a simple grey dress, her hair brushed back from her smooth, pretty face.

"Hi Amanda, Thanks for the clothes," I said, grinning.

"No problem, " She said, and then looked at the woman behind me, "Helen, did you make any more oatmeal for Echo?"

Helen, who I presumed was the cook smiled and gestured to a large pot of steaming lumpy oatmeal, "We had plenty of leftovers since the boys haven't woken up yet."

Amanda snickered and looked at me, a devilish look on her face, "Julian and Rafael have no idea you're here. We could so pull a prank on them." She said, rubbing her hands together.

I laughed, "That sounds awesome!"

Helen made a disapproving noise and handed me a bowl of warm oatmeal, "At least eat first before you do that…" She said, smiling a little at me.

I smile and ask, "Has Leech gotten up yet?"

Helen nodded and frowned, "Yes, it took it's dinner to it's wagon. Is it usually like that? Why does it have a mask?"

I paused, not wanting to tell her about the mob. That was Leech's private information, "Yeah, it doesn't like people seeing it's face." I said carefully, making sure I gave them enough information to satisfy their curiosity, but not enough to intrude on Leech's history.

Helen nodded and turned back to the fire, making sure the oatmeal didn't burn.

Amanda watched me eat. Apparently she had already eaten. I shoveled the delicious food into my mouth and when my bowl is completely empty, I gave back to Helen who smiled at me.

"Want to go prank the boys?" Amanda asked excitedly, acting like it's an ordinary day. But who were we kidding? We both knew I was still depressed from my caravan's destruction. I pushed the negative thoughts back. I didn't want to be sad. I didn't want to think about what had happened.

It was too hard to take.

I smiled, "Nah, I'm going to go check on Leech. See how the doctor's doing." I said, a sudden feeling of depression settling over me like a thick blanket.

Amanda looked a little disappointed, but when I told her I'd help prank them after I talked to Leech, she was considerably happier.

"Oh, Where is the wagon it's staying in?" I asked, realizing I didn't know where Leech was.

Amanda pointed to a wagon next to ours, "Oh." I said, "Thanks."

She smiled and then walked off towards Helen.

I walked slowly to wagon, feeling the mud squelching beneath my feet. I knocked on the wagon frame, "Leech? Can I come in?"

Leech's voice resonated from the wagon, "Yes Echo, please do."

I took off my muddy boots and climbed into the wagon.

Leech had it's mask on, and it's empty bowl lay next to it. It was writing something on a piece of paper, but before I could read it, Leech folded it and put it in it's pocket.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, concerned for the Crenga. It had been there for me through the whole tragedy and I never once thought about what it was going through. I felt a crushing sense of guilt hit me.

Leech nodded it's head, "I'm coping. How about you?" It asked, turning the conversation back on me.

I shrugged, "It doesn't matter." I don't want Leech worrying about me. It's done enough of that already.

Leech tilted it's head, "I beg to differ. You're like a daughter to me Echo, if that were possible, and I want you to be happy."

I looked at it and smiled, "I'm fine." I lied, "But I want to make sure _you're _happy."

Leech nodded, "Very considerate of you Echo. I wouldn't describe myself as happy, I haven't been able to do that since.." It gestured to it's mask, obviously not wanting to say the word 'mob' in case someone was listening, "But I am coping."

I nodded, feeling guilty, "Do you think Craven would let us join his caravan?"

Leech shrugged and looked around the bare wagon, "I'm not sure. We'd have to pull our weight, which I can do, but let's be honest. Painting was never your strongest suit. You need to learn another skill. One you really enjoy."

I bit my lip, "Yeah…" I said sheepishly. I never made that much money in the other caravan.

Leech sighed, "And we can't keep staying in these wagons, they're not ours."

I frowned, "Well, do you have any more money?" I asked.

It nodded, "Yes. The next town we reach, I'll buy myself a new wagon."

I was about to ask, _What about me? _But I decided to keep my mouth shut. It probably wanted me to work for my own money.

I smiled and started crawled back out of the wagon, "Well, I'm going to go with Amanda." I said, saying a quick goodbye before running out of the caravan and finding Amanda still talking to Helen.


	13. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

_Vile could feel her. She was getting closer and closer. Here he was in this cell, restrained, helpless._

_She would free him, intentional or unintentional, she had no choice. She was like him. _

_She would come, and when she did, Vile would be ready. He would be the last Necromancer once he killed her. _

_Vile felt a tug at his conscience, a mental force known as Skulduggery Pleasant that kept trying to gain the upper hand. Vile would not allow Skulduggery to come back. He would not allow this child that was approaching be the last necromancer. He would not let either live. Once he killed the girl, there would be no more hope for the skeleton detective._

_Vile's vision was dark. He was encased in stone, unable to move, to do anything. But he could sense her. And the darkness she brought with her._

_At last. He would be free._

* * *

I walked back to Amanda, and saw that the boys had already woken up. Julian and Rafael were sitting on a log next the campfire, their eyes droopy and half closed.

"Hey." I said, smiling at Amanda.

She grinned and walked over to me, and leaned her shoulder against me, "Hey Julian, look who it is!"

Julian looked up from his oatmeal and his eyes widened as he saw Echo, "What?"

I laughed and Rafael looked up too, his surprised face an exact copy of Julian's.

"Dad will explain." Amanda said, waving off their questioning faces.

Julian rolled his eyes, "Oh shut up." He said to Amanda and then turned to me, "It's nice to see you again Echo." He said, smiling cutely.

I smiled shyly and said, "You too."

Rafael got up and looked around, "When are we heading out?" He asked.

Helen, who was packing up the oatmeal looked over at him and said, "Any minute now."

"Great." Julian said, stretching, "Where are we going again?"

Helen frowned slightly as she stacked some dishes, "Your _father_," She said disapprovingly, "Has decided to take the advice from a mysterious woman called Ashmera. Apparently, the king of the mountain villages is providing protection to all magical people."

Rafael frowned, "What?"

She shrugged and lugged the cooking supplies back to a spare wagon. I looked at Rafael, "Where were you guys headed before this?"

Rafael shrugged, "California."

I frowned, not knowing where California was, "Where?"

"Dad has an old map from the early 2000nds." Amanda explained, "According to it, we're in Nevada right now and the mountain villages are in the Sierra Nevada Mountains."

I laughed, "Really? Those names are so weird." I say.

Julian grinned, "I know right? Apparently our continent was called the United States of America."

I shook my head, laughing a little, "Gods, Anette would have loved to see that map. She was into history like that." I said, smiling at the memory.

Rafael paused and looked at me with curiosity in his voice, "What do you mean she _was _into history? And where is your caravan Echo?"

Amanda scowled at her adopted brother and hissed, "Rafael!"

Rafael glared at her defensively, "What? I just want to know! I mean, she shows up without any explanation, what do expect me to do?" He says, his voice angry and defensive.

"It's fine." I told Amanda, who looked ready to punch Rafael right in the face. I turned to the boy with spikey blond hair and told him about that day after the carnival. My voice cracked as I came to the part about when we found the caravan's remains.

After I was done, Julian looked shocked and Rafael looked very guilty.

"Look," Rafael said, running a hand through his blonde hair, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine." I said, mustering a watery smile.

Helen slid out of the wagon with the supplies in it and looked at us, unaware of the story I had just told the boys,

"Everything alright?" She asked, looking at the boy's faces.

Amanda chirped in, "Yep." She said, her voice a little irritated.

Helen looked at Amanda before saying, "Ok then. Amanda, why don't you go tell Craven that we're ready to go?"

Amanda nodded and gestured for me to follow her. We walked to the largest wagon in the caravan. It was made out of oak, and looked very impressive. Craven walked out from behind it and looked at us, a generous smile on his face,

"Well, good morning girls!" He said cheerfully.

"Helen says we're ready to go." Amanda said, her face politely happy.

"Ok then. Honey, would you go tell Dr. Leech? We don't want to startle our guests." He said, chuckling.

Amanda nodded, and I noticed a sudden look of fear in her eyes, as if she didn't really want to talk to the Crenga.

We walked away from Craven as he started getting the oxen and mules ready to travel.

"You know," I told her, "I can tell Leech and you can go back." I said, and she nodded gratefully and skipped away, her long, curly black hair swinging with every skip.

I walked to where Leech was staying and knocked on the wagon's frame.

"Come in." It said.

I stuck my head into the wagon and looked at it. It was sprawled on the floor, it's mask facing the canvas that served as a roof.

"Are you ok Leech?" I asked, mildly concerned about it's apparent boredom.

It waved a spider-like hand in my direction as if to shoo the question away, "Fine, fine."

"Ok, well Craven wanted to let you know that we're leaving very soon, so don't freak out when we start moving." I said, smirking, already knowing what the Crenga's reaction would be.

"What?" It asked, sitting up and looking at me indignantly, "I've spent 200 years in a caravan Echo, I think I can tell what's happening when a wagon starts to move."

I stifled a snicker and ducked my head out of the wagon, and walked back to Amanda's wagon.

* * *

_She was coming. They were getting closer to him. The darkness within her was strong, and when she came, he'd be ready._

* * *

**Hey guys! So, I'm not updating as often because... I'm working on a NEW story! :D Some of you may have seen it, it's called Far From Godliness. I'd love it if you checked it out and gave me your honest opinion! Thanks Chocolate Minion for reminding about it... :P**


	14. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

When night fell, we had reached the edge of the town. Craven joked it was because Powder was so strong.

We sat around the fire, and ate Helen's delicious chicken stew. Leech, of course, was eating by itself.

"We can restock here and sell our goods." Craven said, his spirits high, his face gleaming with contentment.

"We always put on a show." Rafael said excitedly, looking at me timidly, still feeling guilty about asking, even though I'd assured him multiple times that it was ok.

"You could join us!" He said, grinning.

I laugh, "Sure!" I say, "I'm pretty good at drama."

Amanda stood up and grinned, having put aside most of her soup, saying she wasn't hungry, "Great! Let's go over it!"

Julian rolled his eyes, "Geez sis, we're still eating you know…"

Amanda sighed and sat back on the log, glaring at Julian.

They began squabbling, and Craven stood up and whispered loudly, "Quiet!" The siblings heard their father's urgency and quieted.

Craven held up his hand and in the silence, I could just make out the sound of horse hooves pounding against the ground, and they were getting louder.

Craven whispered to them, his voice serious, "Kids, get in your wagons now." He told the same to Helen, and everyone retreated to their wagons.

I ran over to Leech's wagon, and Amanda followed me, glaring at my back, wondering what I was doing.

"Dad said to get in the wagons!" Amanda hissed, trying to be as quiet as she could.

"I can't let Leech get hurt." I said, "It's all I have left." I said and ran to where Leech was sitting.

We jumped into it's wagon and looked at it. I whispered to it that someone was coming to the caravan. Leech looked up with surprise.

Amanda, who was obviously still a little spooked by Leech, gestured for me to come out.

Leech shook it's head and whispered in a low voice, "You'll be seen if you go back to your wagon. Stay here."

Amanda looked like she was going to disagree, but then I pulled her in as I heard the horse come to a stop right next to our wagon.

I heard Craven's quick footsteps as he walked towards the horse, and then shouted in a very intimidating deep voice,

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

"It is me Craven." A slow, feathery, graceful voice said.

"Ashmera?" Craven said, his voice growing warm and happy, "KIDS, HELEN, LEECH! YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Amanda jumped out of Leech's wagon, grateful she didn't have to spend anymore time with the Crenga.

I followed after her, but Leech stayed in the wagon. I looked at the new comer. She had long, wavy blonde hair and grey eyes.

She was graceful, like a dancer, and she looked more like a piece of art than a human. She had an ancient looking sword strapped to her back.

Her stormy eyes flicked to me and then back to Craven, "I was chased out of the village I met you at." She said, her voice emotionless, but still like a distant melody.

Craven frowned with concern, "Oh dear. Our friends Echo and Leech also had the same thing happen to them. Except their whole caravan was killed."

I shrinked back, not wanting attention to my scrawny, not so pretty figure when this beauty stood in front of me.

She narrowed her eyes at me with what looked like suspicion before saying, "That is most unfortunate."

Craven nodded, seemingly unaware on how she was staring at me, "But you're free to share a wagon with our cook Helen." He said, smiling charmingly at her.

Ashmera turned back to Craven and smiled distantly, like she was a queen of ice, "That would be perfect."

I turned around and saw Helen scowling. She obviously didn't want to share with Ashmera.

I felt Amanda tug me away and we went back to her wagon. We sat on the floor of her wagon and whispered,

"I don't like her." Amanda said, frowning.

"Why not?" I ask, looking at her with confusion.

"I think my dad loves her, and she's just so full of it." Amanda said angrily, picking at a loose string in her shirt.

I frown, "Where's your mother?"

Amanda shrugged, her eyes downcast, "Dead."

My eyes widen, "Oh! I'm sorry, mine are too."

Amanda looked up at me and smirked, "Yeah, seems like everyones parents are dead these days."

I snort at that, "Yeah, Nadar didn't have any parents." I feel a pang of sadness when I think of him, but I push it back. I just want to move on.

"So are Rafael's." Amanda said, smiling crookedly, "But you should see the way Dad was flirting with her when he first met her."

I shake my head, "I honestly thought Helen was your mother."

Amanda laughed, "No, she wishes she was though." She leaned in and whispered quietly, "She has a major crush on my dad. And personally, I'd rather have her as a mother than Ahsmera."

I nod, "Yeah, definitely. But Ashmera doesn't seem interested in your father, so that's good."

Amanda smiled, "Yeah, it's pretty good. I just hope she doesn't break my father's heart too badly."

I laughed and lay on the rugs. She climbed onto the mattress and closed her eyes.

* * *

**Ok, so I'm trying this new thing. For all of the people that followed and favorited/reviewed: **

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**Thanks and enjoy!**


	15. Chapter 13

**Don't you guys hate finals? So do I. So yes, to distract you guys (If you're like my school district and just had your first final today) I decided to post my chapter. **

**Now, I need to warn you, this is the REAL Chapter 13. I realized there wasn't enough time to get to know Ashmera before we dove into the awesome parts, so I decided to post this instead. Consider the other Chapter 13 an apology and sneak peek for making you wait so long. Anyways, enjoy. **

**Chapter 14:**

Morning came quickly with it's chilly, dew covered breath, and along with it's cold embrace came the amazing smell of pork roasting in a pan. Amanda and I quickly jumped out of Amanda's wagon and rushed to the fire pit before anyone else so Amanda would get to pick which pieces of pork she wanted first. Ever since my caravan had been killed, I had lost my desire for food.

I pulled my shawl that Amanda had made for me closer to my scrawny frame and looked at Helen with an amused look as Amanda started stuffing her face with the thick slabs of meat.

Helen clucked disapprovingly and whacked Amanda on the back of the head with her spoon lightly, "Leave some for Echo you little goat…"

I laughed and shook my head, "It's alright Helen, I'm not that hungry." I said and Amanda breathed in relief and continued eating.

Helen snatched the plate of pork away from Amanda's hand as she reached for another piece,

"Your friend may not want any, but if your brothers find out you ate everything, your father will never hear the end of their complaints." Helen said, placing the meat far away from Amanda.

Amanda smirked and started sucking the juice from her fingers,

"Where's Ashmera?" Amanda asked, frowning as she realized that the stallion that the mysterious woman used to get to the camp was missing.

Helen stiffened at the mention of the blonde's name and frowned slightly, "She had _important business _to attend to." Helen sneered as she vigorously scrubbed the pan that held the pork.

"Left at the crack of dawn." She muttered under her breath as she attacked with the pan with such ferocity that one could only assume that her anger was directed towards the young warrior woman called Ashmera.

Amanda frowned and crossed her arms, "A tad bit suspicious no?"

I snorted, "No…" I said sarcastically, "I always wake you up at the crack of dawn to leave for hours on Powder."

Amanda rolled her eyes at my feeble attempt at humor and smirked when I jumped in surprise as Julian's voice came from behind me,

"Who you sneakin' out with?" He asked sleepily, opening his mouth wide and letting a loud yawn escape his mouth.

I roll my eyes, "No one. Ashmera on the other hand…"

A bright shock of hair popped up from behind Julian's shoulder and Rafael grinned,

"Ooh!" He said a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, "Dads having an affair?"

A quick gasp came from behind me and I turned to see Helen standing angrily, facing Julian and her plump cheeks glowing red with anger,

"Your father is a good, responsible man." She said, her voice wavering, "He wouldn't fall for a woman he just met just because she's-" Her voice caught and she swallowed back tears, "beautiful…" She said and sniffled.

Rafael was by her side in an instant and comforting the woman who had became his mother figure,

"Of course he wouldn't Helen…" He muttered, smiling at the older woman, "It was just a joke. There's nothing to that woman other than looks."

Helen sniffed mournfully and patted his hand, which rested on her shoulder, "I know you're lying dear… but thank you anyways." The older woman threw her arms around the tall boy into a brief, motherly hug and then clenched his ear,

"Right." She said in a scowling tone, ignoring his complaints, "If I hear so much of a word of this spoken to your father, I'll string all of you up by your tongues on a wire and leave you out to dry." She said, smirking as the tall boy paled.

She let go of his ear and he darted away, grinning, "You're ruthless Helen."

She grinned shyly and curtsied, "Thank you my dear."

Our laughter was soon quieted by the sound of a horse galloping towards the caravan.

I glanced at Helen, whose smile had quickly turned back into a scowl.

"She's back." Julian whispered in my ear, and I nodded as we watched the woman stride confidently towards the campfire, her hair streaming behind her gracefully.

She shoved past Julian and me and strode over to Helen.

"Where's the food woman?" She asked coldly, and Helen's scowl deepened as she nodded over to the plate of meat.

Ashmera grabbed the plate and started eating the meat with her hands, devouring every last piece.

Rafael frowned with disappointment as the blonde woman licked her fingers clean of the juice. Neither of the boys had gotten any, and meat was a rare treat.

"Good morning all!" I glanced over and sighed as I saw Craven walking happily towards us; his face split into a cheery grin.

Helen immediately straightened and smiled up at Craven as he approached her,

"Good morning Craven." She said and handed him some oatmeal,

"There _was _meat…" Helen said, glaring at Ashmera pointedly, who just ignored her and smiled vaguely at Craven.

Craven was staring back at the stunning woman, a dreamy look on his face,

"Uh-"

He looked back at Helen before putting on his other, cheery smile,

"I sorry Helen, What did you say?"

Amanda groaned and turned away as Helen's face became a mask of hurt,

"Nothing." She whispered under her breath shakily, "Absolutely nothing."

"Oh." Craven said uncomfortably, shifting from foot to foot.

Helen bit her lip to prevent herself from breaking down and gathered the dirty dishes and retreated to her wagon.

I grimaced at the obvious tension in the room and started backing away, "I'm going to go check on Leech…"

I muttered and turned to go.

"Wait Echo," Craven said, and I turned back around, looking at him, "I've got some exciting news for you." He said, grinning.

I frowned cautiously, "What is it?"

"Well," He said, looking at Ashmera, "I was thinking since you have that wonderful sword, Ashmera can teach you a thing or two."

My eyes widened with shock and I laughed as I saw Ashmera scowl with denial,

"What?" She hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.

I laughed nervously, "Really, that's okay… I heard Leech knows a thing or two about sword fighting…" I said.

Craven shook his head firmly, "Echo, I need you to have a way to defend yourself. It's a cruel world out there for anyone what travels with magic folk. And even more so for a mortal."

I scowled at him, "I can defend myself!"

Ashmera stood up slyly and smirked, putting a hand on Craven's shoulder gracefully,

"Really? If you really could, then why is your caravan dead?" She said, a coy look on her face.

'Shut up!" I yelled and started towards her angrily, my hand on my sword hilt when I felt Julian grab my arm and pull me back.

Ashmera smirked at me and fixed her eyes on Craven who was staring at me with a conflicted look in his eyes,

"I'll teach the mortal." She sneered, "But only for you." She said in a melodic voice that seemed to have Craven right under her spell. She turned on her heel and started walking away, Craven's eyes following her longingly.

He sighed as she walked behind a wagon and turned to me sheepishly, "Look Echo…"

I shrugged angrily and started marching after Ashmera. I would have to take lessons from her now, and Craven was right about me being defenseless. And I hated to admit it, but Ashmera was right; if I had been able to use the sword, I could have killed the murderers.

I grimaced as I heard Amanda snap at her father,

"Save it Daddy. That woman just bullied my best friend and you did nothing to intervene because you're her little _puppet_!"

I squeezed my eyes shut briefly and kept walking after Ashmera. Amanda was usually so calm and understanding with her father. She always spoke of him like he was her hero.

_I guess Ashmera's showing the bad side in all of us… _ I thought to myself as I followed the tall, willowy woman to the back of the caravan.

I looked around at my surroundings. All of the wagons were behind me and there was about fifteen feet of flat ground left before it gave way to a steep slope.

Ashmera was standing there, looking off at the few lights in the village that were flickering in the morning chill. Her figure was unnaturally still and I kept my distance warily, not trusting this strange woman.

She cleared her throat and turned slowly, her grey, vicious eyes locking with mine. Her face was stony and disciplined,

"Have you ever used a sword before?" She asked disdainfully, her voice full of boredom.

I winced slightly at her callous demeanor and mumbled, "Uh- no…"

Ashmera rolled her eyes and sighed, putting a hand on her hip, "Confidence girl. You can't hope to win a fight being as weak as you are."

I scowled and squared my shoulders angrily, "I'm _not _weak!" I protested as the skeptical woman raised an eyebrow.

With a quick stroke, her sword was out and right at my neck. I froze with fear as I looked at the gleaming, ancient blade. I gasped and stumbled back with surprise and she snorted at my reaction.

"Weak." She sneered, her eyes narrowed, "I'm surprised you weren't killed with the rest of your caravan."

I scowled and drew my sword clumsily, striding towards her, "Take that back!" I shouted, my voice trembling with anger.

She looked down at me and smirked, bending over a little, "Or what?" She hissed, "You'll stab me?" She barked out a short laugh and with a swift movement, slapped the sword from my grasp with hers.

I clutched my hand with pain and winced at Ashmera's chuckle,

"No…" She muttered, circling me and examining my scrawny body, "You're weak now, but when I'm through with you, you might be half way decent."

I raised my head angrily and opened my mouth to speak but she fiercely interrupted.

"If you wish to avenge their deaths," She said, her intense grey eyes locking with mine, "You need me. And I'm willing to teach you," She smirked slightly, "That is, if you do exactly as I say."

I nodded slowly and she held out her hand to help me up. I hesitantly took it and she pulled me to my feet, handing my gleaming new sword back to me.

"A very suitable blade." She commented as I took my sword back, "It's obvious _you _didn't pick it out… The Crenga?"

My scowl deepened and I nodded again. She smiled, "That creature is a very practical being. You could learn a thing or two from it."

I rolled my eyes, "I already _have." _I muttered under my breath, getting into a stance I had seen Nadar use when practicing.

My feet were shoulder width apart and my knees were slightly bent.

Ashmera flicked her gaze over my stance lazily and sighed slowly, "Pathetic."

She walked over to me and slid her foot in between my feet and kicked my foot aside, sweeping me off balance and sending me tumbling to floor with a yelp.

I scowled and scrambled to my feet, refusing to show her how much the hard floor had hurt me.

She sighed, "Girl, when you make a stance, you need to brace yourself. If you don't, then you'll fall and give your opponent the perfect opportunity to stab you right in between the ribs. Which, unless you're suicidal, is what we're trying to avoid."

"Well," I snapped with annoyance, my side aching, "How the hell am I supposed to do that? Keep guessing until you can't trip me?"

Ashmera crossed her arms and looked at me for a second before grudgingly showing me how I needed to push my knees outwards. She showed me front stance, with a straight back leg, used mostly for offensive work, and back stance, with both legs bent, which could be used for both offensive and defensive.

When she backed away and prepared to attack, I dropped into a back stance and raised my sword as she lashed out. Her attack bounced off, only jarring my arms a little. I quickly changed into a front stance and thrusted my blade at her chest, but she parried it easily and stepped back looking at me with a cool indifference,

"Well," She purred, looking at me from under her smug, half hooded eyes, "It's obvious we aren't going to get any farther until you actually practice."

I frowned and opened my mouth to protest when her demeanor quickly changed into one of anger,

"Now girl!"

I clamped my mouth shut and spun on my heel angrily, marching away.

I stomped through the camp to the Crenga's wagon and knocked impatiently on the side.

"Come in!" it said loudly from the confines of it's wagon.

I stamped over to the entrance of the wagon and glared at the Crenga as it sat in the center of the wagon, it's long legs stretched out.

"I hate her." I snarled crossing my arms angrily.

Leech tilted it's head at me, "Who?"

"Ashmera." I snap, annoyed for no reason at it.

It nodded, seemingly oblivious to my emotions and then looked at me, "What would you like me to do?"

I frowned, "I don't know… What are you going to do?"

Leech shrugged it's shoulders, "It's your fight. Not mine. I will wait here."

I hissed with frustration and stormed away, not looking back at the Crenga as I kicked pebbles out of my way.

"Echo!" I turned around to see Julian running after me.

"What do you want?" I snapped. He stopped in his tracks and looks at me with hurt in his eyes.

I sigh, "Sorry, I'm just upset."

Julian looked relieved and nodded eagerly, "I thought you would be, so I thought maybe you and I could do something?" He asked, wincing slightly as if he were expecting me to hit him.

I stared at him for a moment, feeling conflicted, _Is he asking me on a date? Surely not… _

I smirked, "As friends right?"

He paused and nodded, "Yeah, of course." He said, sounding a little disappointed. But I wasn't ready to move on yet. Nadar had just died. And his murderers ran free.

"Alright…" I said and looked at the ground, "I guess I need some space from everything, 'ya know?" I say, looking up.

His face split into a grin and he nodded, "Yeah. We can take Powder…" He said shyly.

I smirked, "Where are we going Julian?"

He shrugged mysteriously, "You'll see…"


	16. Chapter 14

**Hello again, sorry for the delay... I discovered I had a minor plot hole, but I fixed it so it inspired me to write more! I wasn't really planning on writing a new chapter for the rest of the summer, simply because I didn't feel good about this fanfiction. But then I went back and read your reviews and I thought, _Well Carrot, you can't leave them hanging! We've got to get back to the ACTUAL plot! _So I wrote my butt off, (and unfortunately, this is shorter than most) and here is the new chapter! Enjoy! (I'm writing the next one right now...)**

**Love always,**

**Carrot**

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**Chapter 15:**

After about an hour of sitting on Powder's back, we finally drew to a stop. Julian dismounted and I followed quickly, looking around. Old ruins stood about ten feet away, obviously the remains of a cottage, but tall grass had grown in the walls and vines snaked over the stone sides.

I shivered as a cold wind swept through the valley, making the dried grass look like yellow waves.

Julian started walking towards the ruins, and I followed at a safe distance, eyeing the place with suspicion. It was eerie. I felt like I knew it, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

As I crossed the threshold, I felt something snap under my feet. I gasped as I looked at the bone I had stepped on. Julian looked back and his eyes widened,

"Whoa." He said, squatting down to inspect the bone. It was large and old looking, the sun and rain had bleached it so little cracks made a pattern on the top layer.

"It's human." He said after inspecting it closely.

My eyes widened and I backed away, "Julian… We should go." I whispered with fear in my voice.

Julian, who was too wrapped up in this latest discovery, began to brush away the dirt on top of the floor.

"Look! It's a whole skeleton!" He said, brushing away the last of the dirt with his hands. Sure enough, a person's bones were sprawled across the cracked stone floor. The skull was crushed and most of the bones were damaged, but it was definitely a skeleton.

My breath began to come out in quick, shallow huffs as I felt horror rise in my chest, my mind remembering Gordon's skeleton on that horrible day-

Tears began to form in my eyes and I turned away, clenching my hair with my hands in an attempt to drive the images that were flashing before me out of my head.

Julian's excited voice came from inside the ruined house, "Hey look I found-" He stopped, and then said in a quiet and worried tone, "Echo? Are you alright?"

I steadied myself and turned to face him, "Yeah." I said, forcing a watery smile on my face.

He walked out and held out something in his hand. I frowned and picked it up. It was a ring.

Just a simple black band.

Julian frowned, "That's weird." He muttered, taking the ring from me and holding it up to the fading light.

"What?" I demanded, trying to see what he was looking at.

He looked up at me, "There's no scratches on this. Who knows how old this thing is, it was buried under all this broken glass and dirt. Not a scratch. It's not even dirty."

I frowned and snatched it from him, "Well, maybe it's just really tough metal…"

"I've never seen any metal like this before." Julian said, "It feels… wrong."

I turned to him, pocketing the ring, "Julian, what is this place?"

He shrugged, "I don't really know. I heard an old man talk about it, but I've never been here."

My frown deepened. Something was not right here, "What did he say about this place?"

"It used to belong to some scientists. They were doing tests with magic or something…" Julian said, looking at the destroyed hut, "But then the two of them were killed. Some explosion. Probably whatever they were testing blew up in their faces." He said, smirking before seeing the grave look on my face.

"But," He said, looking at the ring, "There isn't a branch of magic that uses objects like that…"

I looked at the ring as realization hit me, "Necromancy." I whispered.

Julian's eyes widened, "What? But that's impossible. Necromancers are extinct! Along with all their magic."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the dark entryway to the hut, "Well, whoever they were… They knew a thing or two about it. I've heard stories… Necromancers use an object to channel their magic. Valkyrie Cain made rings popular…" I started to walk towards the hut, trying to ignore the skeleton.

"Echo!" Julian said, running after me, "Wait! Don't you think we should leave? Tell someone about this?"

I turned and rolled my eyes, "Whoever was doing this is obviously long dead. There's nothing dangerous in there, it's just glass."

Julian hesitated before following me into the dark room. I looked around, my eyes adjusting to the darkness before resting on the pile of glass Julian had mentioned.

Julian snapped his fingers, summoning a flame and I knelt down, being careful to avoid the glass, and began to shift through the shards, looking for any more clues that might confirm my hypothesis.

"Wait." Julian whispered, bending down next to me, clutching my hand before I could move the glass again.

I glanced at him with surprise as he grabbed my hand, but I saw that he was still looking at the glass. I frowned as my eyes fell on what he had stopped me for.

A scrap of paper.

I drew my hand from his and grabbed the paper. Spider-like handwriting filled the whole thing, but the words were cut off by the charred edge of the paper where it had burned. It seemed to be some sort of log, but the writing was rushed, with ink blotches covering some letters.

_Day 67:_

_The subject continues to behave like a regular mortal, but it is likely that the ring has no power yet. The search for the true ring continues, and it is our hope that with the right ring, the chemicals that were injected into the subject on Day 1 will awaken the subject's-_

A large burn mark interrupted the writing, but at the end of the scrap, were the words,

_However, it is only a matter of time before they find us._

I handed the paper to Julian, shivering, "They were testing on someone."

Julian frowned after reading it, "It doesn't make sense… Why would they use a mortal? And how could they convince a mortal to do something like that? I'm going to assume that they _were _trying to make a mortal into some sort of… sorcerer, but no mortal would ever _volunteer _to lead a life on the road as an outcast!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air with frustration.

I felt the ring in my pocket and slipped it onto my finger, "What if they _didn't _have a choice?"

Julian frowned, "What… you're saying they were testing on a person against their will?"

I shrugged, "Just making theories."

Julian shivered and stared at the note before he raised his head and looked at me, "Let's get out of here."

I nodded and turned to follow him out, giving one last, wistful glace at the ruined house. My curiosity was still burning. Questions filled my head as I walked through the dry grass to where Powder was tethered.

The ride back to camp was quiet. We didn't know what to say. We had agreed to ask Leech about the ring, but other then that, not a word was uttered. I just wrapped my arms around his waist and held on tight as he spurred Powder away from the house.

As we dismounted, I grabbed the reins and led Powder back to her post. As I finished tying the knot, I felt a hand grip my shoulder tightly and I spun around to see Leech staring down at me.

Its wooden mask looked blankly down at me and it hissed in a dangerous voice, "Echo, show me the ring. NOW." It yelled, its long fingers gripping my shoulder mercilessly.

My face paled as I managed to clumsily get the ring off my finger.

It snatched it from my hand and held it to the lenses of its mask, turning away from me.

"What is it?" I asked in a shaky, whispery tone. I was surprised to say the least by Leech's behavior. What was wrong with it?

It growled and shoved the ring into it's pocket, then Leech turned to face me and said in a low tone, "Echo, I need you to promise me you won't tell _anyone _about what you and Julian found back there. Not a _soul._" It said fiercely.

I frowned and whispered with fear, "But why?"

"What you found back there," It said, pausing, "Was never meant to be found again. People killed so others could forget what happened in that hut and they're still willing to do it. It's for your own safety Echo." It whispered, it's voice becoming one of warning and concern.

I nodded slowly, my insides churning, "Can't you tell me more?"

Leech drew back and inspected me for a moment, "The less you know, the safer you are. I've already talked to Julian; this will be our little secret yes?"

I nod again, but my curiosity still burned bright. Whatever happened there, I was going to find out.

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**If you have any ideas for the story or you think you know where it's going, please PM me or write a review! I love hearing your thoughts and criticisms! It keeps me going! (Also, it inspires me to write more, and puts me in the mood for writing good chapters. So if you DO review, you're helping this fanfiction become better and I appreciate you for doing that :))**


	17. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! I'm _very _excited at the moment, because we're approaching the part in the plot that involves rising action which will lead to the climax! I'm very happy with how this story is going so far and I would like to that all of you lovely people for reviewing, it really does help. We are now approaching the beginning of the end, I can't decide if I'm going to end the story happily and leave it at that, or if I'll kill off some people and write a second one...**

**Anyways, I won't be posting for a few weeks (Most likely, unless I can finish another chapter by Friday.) because I'm going to a place with no wifi.**

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**Chapte****r 15:**

Over the next couple of weeks, I acted normally under the close eye of Leech. Craven told us that we would stay near the village of Ubeck until the roads were safe to travel upon. Winter was waning, but as we travelled farther up the mountain, the more cold and unpredictable the weather became. And it seemed that as long as we remained close to the ruined house, Leech would be my guard, making sure I never had a chance to slip away. It knew me too well, and was aware that my curiosity would eventually get the better of me.

But I bid my time, waiting for a time when the Crenga wasn't looking while I did my regular chores around the caravan and continued my lessons with Ashmera.

The fierce woman seemed to have taken a shine to me, though she had an odd way of showing it. She would often go out of her way outside of lessons to teach me new tricks and criticize my mistakes.

One time during a session, she even laughed at a stupid joke I made. It was the first time I had seen that woman of stone smile, let alone laugh, and it was nice. She could be friendly, though Amanda and the others still were wary of her, I had seen a side to her that none of the others had.

Ashmera became a friend to me over those weeks, with Leech acting as my parent, Julian, Amanda and Rafael rehearsing for their play, and Helen busy as always in the kitchens, Ashmera and I grew close.

During lessons she would joke and tease and I would do the same. One night when everyone was busy and we were supposed to be sword fighting, I twisted my ankle in a gopher hole. We sat on the edge of the cliff, looking at the few lights that the village in the valley below under a sky-burning sunset.

"You're coming along fine Echo." Ashmera said, looking off into the distance, "But I could still beat you blindfolded." She smirked and looked at me in a cat-like way.

I rolled my eyes, "Ashmera. A great warrior. And a humble one too might I add." I snickered as she elbowed me and snorted.

We stayed there until the first stars started to appear in the velvety dusk.

"There used to be more lights on the earth then there were in the heavens." Ashmera said quietly, looking up at the stars thoughtfully.

I glanced at her, barely able to make out her eyes in the darkness, "Really?"

Ashmera nodded, "They say the mortals used lanterns that didn't use any oil. They had millions of them. And it was so bright, it blocked out the stars' light."

I frowned, "That's awful. How could you get used to seeing nothing when you looked up?"

Ashmera shrugged, "They gave up a lot of stuff for their own comfort. Some things changed for the better when Nye detonated the bomb that destroyed all the technology."

I smirked, "I know about the bomb. Anette…" I trail of and smile sadly, " The war was all she ever talked about… That and Skulduggery Pleasant."

Ashmera frowned and looked at me with a thoughtful expression upon her face,

"Do you like those sort of stories Echo? The ones about Pleasant and Cain?"

I nodded, "Oh yes. They used to annoy me, but ever since my caravan was…"

Ashmera nodded and looked down, like she was almost guilty.

"…They bring back good memories now." I said, making a half-hearted attempt at a smile.

Ashmera looked up, giving me a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "Tell me Echo, have you heard of Tanith Low?"

I nodded eagerly; Tanith was always one of my favorites.

Ashmera laughed, "Well, I'm Tanith's last known descendant."

I laughed, thinking that she was just goofing around, but then, she reached behind her and drew two long blades. They were ancient looking in style, but had been well cared for.

On base of the blade, the name _Tanith Low _was engraved into the metal.

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped, I looked up at her and she threw her head back, laughing at my reaction.

"This is _real_?" I said, my voice full of disbelief and awe.

She nodded, a twinkle in her eyes, "Yeah. I got them from my dad. It's been passed down through my family for generations."

I leaned back, a stupid grin plastered on my face, "That's incredible Ashmera! Why didn't you tell us before?"

The twinkle faded and she shrugged, "I don't like mages."

I frowned when she said 'mage'. No one used that term anymore, there weren't any mages left. Not pure mages anyways.

"Why?"

She smirked, "Doesn't matter, they just make me wary." Her voice had changed to being casual, but guarded.

"I never asked," I said, leaning forward to look at her better, "What _is _your ability."

She looked at me, her eyes cold, but her voice still had that casual ring to it, "I'm a bone breaker. One of the last."

I frowned, "A what?"

She smirked and explained what she could do.

I looked at her with surprise, and then smirked and scooted away from her.

She chuckled, her eyes calculating, "No, I have control over it. I won't break your bones Echo."

I grinned, "I know. I trust you." I said, scooting back, "I was just teasing."

Ashmera went quiet for a moment, not looking at me, just staring at her lap.

"Are you alright?" I asked slowly, looking at her with concern.

She looked up at me with a small smile, "What? Oh, yeah… Fine. I'm just tired is all." She said, lying back, her legs still dangling over the edge of the cliff.

I nodded, remaining sitting up, "I can understand that." I say, chuckling, "With Leech constantly bugging me, it's like I don't have a free moment anymore." I said bitterly, throwing a little rock over the ledge.

Ashmera propped her head up on her elbow to look at me, frowning, "What is that all about anyways? It almost never leaves its wagon, and now it's like an overprotective parent."

I shrugged, remembering Leech's warning, "I guess it's just concerned. Julian and I snuck out a couple of weeks ago, and it was upset when it found out."

Ashmera frowned, "Are you and him…"

I looked at her with puzzlement, "What?" Then it dawned on me, "Oh gods no. We're not together… We were just exploring."

Ashmera smirked, snickering lowly, "_Sure _you were Echo. I know what it feels like to be a hormone driven teenager, you don't need to defend your actions…"

I blushed at what she was implying, and said in a louder voice, "I swear, we were just checking out an old house! We were just…"

Ashmera had stopped laughing, but she had kept her smirk in place, but in her eyes, I could see a cold, determined look in her eyes, "An old house is the perfect place for a snog. Goodness Echo, you and Julian… I wouldn't have thought…"

I stood up, my cheeks burning and my temper blown, "I do NOT fancy him Ashmera!" I shouted, and started stomping away.

"Echo!" She called after me, "Wait!" But I ignored her. I stomped through the cold grass to Amanda's wagon and crawled in, looking at Amanda sullenly before changing into my sleepwear.

"What's wrong?" Amanda asked, looking up from her writing, finally noticing my temper.

"Nothing." I grumbled, crawling into bed and facing the canvas of the wagon cover.

Amanda sighed loudly making very clear she was irritated with me, and when I didn't answer, she turned out the lamp and nosily grumbled.

X

Ashmera scrambled to her feet after Echo had stormed off, and raced to her horse. After quickly looking around to make sure no one was around to watch her, she mounted the dark steed and spurred him on.

She moved like the night, and travelled along the precarious road for miles until she spotted it; a small campsite just off the road. To any passerby, it would appear to be a merchant and his apprentice. But a flag that was hanging from a wagon told Ashmera otherwise.

The fabric was silk, and on it, a symbol was printed. An ancient rune for _messenger_. The background was blood red.

She dismounted and after securing the horse, she approached the fire, a scowl on her face, keeping her guard up.

The merchant looked up, and gave a yelp, before calming down, "Ashmera! I- I didn't see you-"

"I have information you pathetic piece of dirt, now stop talking." She said, sneering disdainfully at him.

He closed his mouth, and looked up at her, indignant and offended.

"There is a mortal in the caravan I have been tasked with. She and a fire elementalist have discovered the house."

The man scowled murderously, "Does she know?"

Ashmera sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "No. But the Crenga does. It's forbidden them from returning. It knows. It _will _be taken care of."

The man stood and clumsily saluted her, "Yes milady. It will be done."

Ashmera nodded, "Good. I don't know when the opportunity will arise for its elimination, it stays _very _close to the others."

The man nodded, "We can let the king deal with it when you lead them to him. He will want such a rare specimen."

Ashmera nodded, "Take the information back to base. I don't want anyone else to figure out the truth about that place."

The man nodded and Ashmera spun on her heel, striding away from the campsite with frustration.

Her head was full of conflicting feelings, guilt, pride, a sense of duty, a sense of imprisonment.

This was bad. She could not afford to get attached to _anyone, _especially not a mortal such as Echo.


	18. Chapter 16

The next morning, with my spirits in much better condition, I walked to Ashmera's wagon to apologize.

She poked her head out, her usually long luscious hair lank and tangled; she looked like she hadn't slept a wink.

I grinned sheepishly, "Sorry about last night… You'd think I'd be able to tell when I'm being teased by now with Julian and Amanda…"

Ashmera frowned with confusion before groaning, "Oh… right. No, that's fine…" She muttered, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Now," She said in a colder voice, her eyes hardening, "If you wouldn't mind, I'm not feeling too well. We're going to need cancel today's lessons. I need to rest."

A feeling of disappointment settled on me; I had grown fond of our lessons. I nodded, "Of course. Just focus on getting better." I smiled and walked back to the fire pit where Leech was sitting next to a very uncomfortable looking Julian.

I plopped next to Julian and smiled over at the Crenga, "Hey Leech! So good of you to join us!"

Leech nodded in response and passed a pot of stew to Julian who quickly dished himself some before handing me the warm metal container.

I looked over at Leech, "You're not going to eat?" I asked innocently.

It sighed, 'No Echo. I've already eaten privately."

I nodded and looked at my bowl, feeling a smile creep onto my face, "So what are you doing later today?"

Leech looked at me and tilted its head, "I'm going to the village to do a public dissection."

My smile turned into a grin and I felt Julian tense next to me; he had pieced two and two together as well.

"And before you two think of sneaking off again, I've already asked Ashmera to watch you." Leech said, it's voice harsher. It stood up and strode back towards its wagon.

I rolled my eyes with frustration, "Whatever." I muttered into my soup. I felt Julian grasp my hand and I glanced up at him.

He had a devious expression on his face and he winked slyly, "We can make it happen." He whispered.

I giggled, blushing a little, feeling a jolt go through my body. A memory tugged at my conscience,

_Our hands were intertwined and I felt a warmth like nothing I had ever felt with him. I felt like I belonged. He was the _only _one for me. I looked at him; he had little scars scattered across his face, leaving little white grooves in his coffee colored skin, but he was still amazing. His eye patch was covering his eye socket, but his other eye was bright blue. I had loved Nadar. I had loved Nadar for years. _

I pulled my hand away as I reminded myself of what had happened to Nadar when he had started loving me back. Julian cleared his throat awkwardly and pulled his hand into his lap, staring at it with disappointment written plainly on his face.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "Look Julian, I'm just having a hard time moving on. Give me some time alright?"

Julian smirked and snorted, "I don't know what you're talking about Echo. We're just friends, right?" He said, standing up and taking our bowls to Helen to clean.

I sighed and stood up as well.

I smiled as Rafael waved to me, and I waved back. The blonde boy had taken up running as a hobby after he had seen a mortal race that magical creatures were allowed to participate in. He said it gave him time to think. So with play rehearsals and his jogs, I really hadn't talked to him for a week.

An idea sprouted in my head, and I grinned as it blossomed into a plan.

I grabbed Julian's arm and dragged him with me towards Rafael, "Hey Rafael!' I said cheerily, both of the boys looking at me with surprise and confusion.

"Hey Echo." He said, smiling.

"Can we come on a run with you? We know a cool track." I said, smiling and glancing at Julian, who broke into a grin as he caught on.

Rafael looked at the two of us with suspicion, "You guys aren't going to murder me are you?"

Julian laughed and I joined in, shaking my head.

Rafael grinned, "Alright, if you're sure..." He turned and started running and at brisk pace.

"Wait!" I shouted, "I'm going to tell Ashmera!"

Rafael turned back and rolled his eyes with annoyance, "Fine. But seriously hurry up."

I jogged over to Ashmera's wagon and knocked on the wooden frame with my knuckles, hearing her sleepy grumbles from inside.

"We're going on a jog, Ashmera!" I said loudly.

I heard her angry and grumpy voice from within, "Gods. Just stop yelling!" She snapped.

I grinned and ran back to where Julian and Rafael were goofing around. I tapped Julian on the shoulder and he glanced at me and then smiled slightly before turning to Rafael, "Let's go."

Rafael gave me a quick look of curiosity before starting to run, his long, powerful legs making it hard to keep up.

After we were out of sight of the rest of the caravan, I slowed to a walk and Rafael sighed with frustration,

"Look Echo. When you asked if you could run with me, I thought you meant you were actually going to try," He said, smirking.

I punched him in the arm and rolled my eyes, "Actually, Julian and I are going that way." I said, pointing to the small path that snaked off.

Rafael looked at Julian with an open mouth, "Are you guys dating?" He said, laughing mischievously.

My cheeks reddened as Julian stammered, "Well, we're- uh – I mean-"

"No." I said strongly, looking Rafael straight in the eye, and avoiding Julian's.

Rafael raised his eyebrows and looked between us, arms crossed, "Then where _are _you going?"

I looked at Julian, not sure whether to tell him the truth or not. Julian looked at Rafael and shrugged,

"We just wanted to talk about stuff on our own." He said lamely.

I rolled my eyes. Julian was horrible at lying.

Rafael scowled, "I'm not stupid. I know what you two are doing. It makes sense now… You guys have been going off into the woods to- to…" He looked at us for a few seconds before shaking his head, "Just… don't lie to me next time." He said, sighing.

My cheeks burnt scarlet as he ran away and Julian and I started walking towards the house in _very _awkward silence.

I glanced up at Julian, blushing as I saw he was doing the same thing. We both looked down again, and then when I thought he wasn't looking, I took a good look at him. He had paler skin then his sister, whose skin was perfectly tanned, almost like burnt sunlight. His was colder. His hair was as dark as hers though, and it hung loose around his face. He had mentioned to me once that he liked his hair long, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.

He looked up, and our eyes locked. I couldn't contain a silly giggle from escaping my lips, and soon we were both laughing over Rafael's assumptions.

And just like that, the ice was broken. We were just two friends solving a mystery.

X

I glanced at Julian as we approached the crumbling house.

"You know we don't have to do this… We can just go back."

Julian rolled his eyes and stepped over the skeleton we had unearthed last time as a response.

I followed him, smirking. We began tearing the place apart, turning over the stone flooring, looking for something, anything.

We had already taken into consideration that if this whole story was so hush-hush, people would have probably already searched the place. But there was always that possibility that they missed something. After all, they left the ring and the log entry.

It took about an hour until we found the paper. I had pulled a rock out of the wall and after clearing away the rubble and smoke, I had found a small clay pot that had a folded piece of paper in it. We had excitedly unfolded it to find coordinates scribbled in the same scratchy penmanship as before, and below it were the words,

_A large amount of magical energy has been found here. When the subject has developed enough, the energy should trigger the chemicals mentioned in Logs 23-845._

I looked up at Julian, my eyes wide, "We _have _to go there Echo." He said, his voice full of excitement.

I nodded, a huge grin spreading across my face.

As we walked out of the house, Julian grabbed my hand and pulled my behind a pile of rocks. I scowled at him, but he put a finger to his lips.

Then I heard it.

Footsteps.

I looked at Julian with wide eyes as I heard Ashmera's voice, "Where are they?" She demanded, her voice commanding and cold.

"I- uh-" Rafael's voice was slightly nervous, "They left me, they said, to go have a snog…"

I rolled my eyes, but kept holding Julian's hand tightly, afraid that Ashmera would discover our hiding place.

"Anyways," He said, "They didn't come this way. They were walking back towards the village… Something about renting a room for the night?"

Julian gritted his teeth, our thoughts were the same, _We're going to get in so much trouble…_

"Gods." Ashmera grumbled, her voice getting farther away, "There is no _way _that Leech is hearing about this. I'm going to get the lover birds. Rafael, go back to the caravan now."

We waited until the sound of her horse's hooves was gone to jump out from behind the rocks.

I yelped as I saw Rafael standing there, arms crossed over his chest and an irritated look on his face.

"Er…" I said, awkwardly getting closer to Julian, "Thanks for covering for us…"

"Come on." He said, rolling his eyes, "I know you guys aren't together." He said as we tried in vain to appear close.

I glanced at Julian who shrugged.

"What were you two _really _doing?" He asked, scowling.

Julian glanced at me before clearing his throat, "We were investigating."

Rafael raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. Julian sighed,

"We think there were these scientists that were trying to bring back some branch of magic… Echo thinks it might be necromancy."

Rafael's raised both eyebrows, looking from me to his brother with a disbelieving look on his face.

"…Right." Rafael said bitterly, turning away, "It's okay. I'm used to being left out."

I sighed and grabbed his arm, "Seriously Rafael. We're telling the truth. We found some coordinates and we think it might lead to wherever they were getting their energy."

Rafael turned and frowned at me, looking for any sign that I might be lying. Finally, he sighed,

"Alright. So where is it?"

Julian and I exchanged glances, "We don't really know…" Julian said, "We just found the coordinates a couple of minutes ago."

"We should use your dad's map." I said, looking at the two of them.

Rafael scowled, "Are you crazy? Dad loves that map. He has it on a display! We'd never get it."

Julian said thoughtfully, "We can get it…"

Rafael turned to his brother, frowning, "What? How?"

"We just need to copy it. We don't actually need to touch it." Julian said, grinning.

I smirked, "Thank goodness you're smart." I said, and we started walking back. The village was about ten miles away, so Ashmera wouldn't find us if we moved quickly.

I quickly sketched the map over in Craven's wagon; Rafael standing outside the wagon, prepared to distract anyone who came by.

As we hurried out of the campsite, I stopped dead; remembering the ring Leech had taken.

I started running towards Leech's wagon, remembering it had left its pouch that had the ring in it when it went to the village. I jumped in his wagon and looked around, plugging my nose against the stench of rotting flesh. I spotted the pouch and moaned with disgust.

It was hanging on a mummified hand.

Great. Just great. I used two fingers to carefully pull it off, and winced as a finger fell off the hand.

I quickly jumped out of the wagon and ran to where Rafael and Julian were waiting.

"Alright." I said, pulling the ring out of the pouch and sticking it on my finger, "Let's get going."

In the end, we decided to take two horses; Powder and Julian's horse, Nevia.

I took the lead since I had the map, and Rafael and Julian followed closely on Nevia.

As the darkness of dusk draped the landscape, heavy rain clouds descended upon us. Within half an hour, the rain was pouring down our faces, making us numb to the bone.

The coordinates led us up a narrow, steep road up the mountain. On one side of the narrow road, there was the mountain was a sheer drop that led to certain death.

I clutched the leather reigns in my hands, or at least I think I did. My hands were so cold it was hard to tell.

We approached the exact place the coordinates pointed to, and I looked around,

"There's nothing here!" I yelled back over my shoulder at the boys. They squinted through the rain and saw I was right; the road stretched on, but the note had said right here.

Julian jumped of Nevia, and steadied the nervous mare. The thunder was making the horses on edge, and if they panicked and bucked us, we would fall off the road and die.

I quickly dismounted Powder and secured her to a small sapling growing out of the side of the mountain.

I turned to the boys and yelled through the rain, "We should look around and then head back."

Rafael's expression was doubtful, but Julian nodded and walked carefully over to where I was standing as we began to look for any clues.

We dug into the mountainside, but we didn't even know what we were looking for. We kept checking the ring to see if it changed as we dug deeper with our sore fingers, but it remained cold and ominous as ever.

I sighed after a few minutes of digging into the side of the mountain with my numb, raw fingers, "It's impossible to do this in the rain. We'll come back tomorrow." I said, standing and walking back to Powder.

"Hang on!" Julian said loudly, following me, "We won't be able to come back! Ashmera won't let us."

I shrugged, scowling as I struggled to loosen the knot that tethered Powder with my numb fingers, "I don't care. There's probably nothing here anyways."

Rafael nodded with relief and started untying Julian's mare.

Julian's eyes flashed with anger, "You can't give up!" He said, his voice growing louder as I mounted Powder.

"Watch me." I snarled and flicked the reins, forcing Powder into a slow trudge against the fierce wind and rain.

"You're scared!" He shouted, his fists balled and his teeth clenched.

I turned and scowled at him, "What?"

"You're afraid of what they were doing! You're just a girl! You're afraid that Leech will give you lecture!" He said, crossing his arms and glaring at me stubbornly.

My cheeks flushed with anger and I felt my blood go hot. He knew all the right buttons to press. It was like he _wanted _me to tear him apart.

Rafael glanced between us nervously, "I personally agree with Echo…"

Julian turned to his adopted brother and said irritably, "Well, you've always been one to leap out of your comfort zone." He scoffed.

Rafael's cheeks grew red with embarrassment and he scowled, "Well at least I'm not running around begging for attention from _any _girl!"

Julian opened his mouth to answer, but I cut him off, "I am no _coward_." I snarled, stomping up to him, his face inches from mine.

"I saw my whole caravan dead. I saw my loved one burn. If that isn't brave enough for you, then let's hear what _you've _done!" I roared, making Julian look down, wincing.

"Echo- I didn't mean-"

"No. We're going to investigate the hell out of this mountain. I'm not afraid." I snarled, pushing past him.

I walked towards the mountain, keeping my head down against the rain and wind, my eyes locked on the muddy ground.

"_ECHO!" _Julian screamed, I turned back to see Powder rear on her hind legs, a terrified look in her eyes, I shrank back in fright as her hooves kicked the air next to me.

I took a step back, and screamed as I fell off the cliff and into the abyss.

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffhanger, If you'd like a quick update, reviews are the fuel I use to write XD. Thank you for sticking with this story! I don't know how you guys have such long attention spans, I would've ditched this story ages ago. **

**-Carrot**


	19. Chapter 17

**Thank you sooooo much for the positive feedback and your concern for Echo XD! We'll be getting back to her next chapter!**

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**Chapter 17:**

Ashmera glared at the man who had just thrown her across the bar, glass from broken cups cutting her coat.

When she had entered the local village pub, it was for nothing more then finding Echo and Julian. But she had stopped abruptly when her cold, dark eyes landed on a man smoking a long pipe, glaring at her. His eyes were startlingly bright blue, and he had long, scruffy brown hair. His beard was shaggy, but he still looked startlingly robust despite his bad hygiene.

She drew a chair from a table without taking her eyes off the young man sitting with his feet propped on the table.

He sneered at her as she sank into the chair and glared him.

"Hello 'Mera." He said lazily, puffing smoke out of his pipe.

Her glare hardened and she said in a dangerously calm voice, "Benedict."

He smirked and leaned forward, "You don't look happy to see me."

The blonde haired woman regarded him icily, "Why should I?"

"Your childhood friend? Your boyfriend? Your fiancé? I don't know Ashmera, use your imagination."

Ashmera rolled her eyes with disdain, "Your imagination must be huge if you still think we're getting married."

Benedict gave her a foxy grin before glancing her over, "I've got to admit, you're a good looking gal Ashmera, but you're delusional if you think _anyone _would ever want to spend the rest of their life with you."

Ashmera didn't change her expression, but Benedict could tell from her eyes that the insult had hit home. He sat there smugly as the woman he had tricked to love him so long ago struggled to think of what to say next.

Finally, she snarled, "Alright. Why are you following me?"

He shrugged, "You seemed to be having some difficulties with your mission."

"What?" She said, glowering at him, "I'm doing _fine_. And it doesn't help when you blow my cover like this! Echo and Julian are here and if they see me with _you _they'll know something's up."

He grinned and stood, "It doesn't matter what they see. We're here to exterminate them."

Ashmera's eyes widened with shock and she jumped to her feet, "_WHAT?" _She roared.

Benedict turned to her sharply, his blue eyes flashing dangerously, "You sent a report saying they had found the house. You know as well as I, they can't be allowed to return." He sneered and turned to go up the stairs where the two teenagers were undoubtedly in a room.

Ashmera lunged at him, her nails clawing at his face, trying to drag him away from the staircase, "Ben! You can't!"

He grabbed her hands and glared at her with rage, "Why not? Why are these teenagers different from the countless others we've killed? You've gone soft Ashmera." He snapped, shoving her to the floor and kicking her in the side, "A soft soldier. You're not good for anything." He snarled, kicking her again and again, forcing her to curl into a ball and wait for him to stop.

She kicked her foot out, catching his leg and sending him crashing to the floor. With a gasp of pain, she staggered to her feet and attempted to draw her sword, but she was too slow. Benedict had clamored to his feet and lunged at her, grabbing her and throwing her with unnatural strength across the bar.

She slid across the bar top, glasses crashing to the ground. Ashmera glared at the man who had just thrown her across the bar, glass from broken cups cutting her coat. She scrambled to her feet as he threw a chair and dove out of the way as it crashed against the wall. She rolled across the floor gracefully, grabbing her sword as she landed and drawing it quickly.

Benedict scowled at her, his teeth bared like a wolf's. He pulled out his own sword; a long, slender thing and lunged across the bar towards her.

Ashmera scooped a pile of sharp glass into her hand and, ignoring the pain, flung it at the man's face with all her might.

His screams echoed throughout the bar as the glass pierced his eye and impaled his face. Ashmera dove forward, driving her knife into her ex's stomach and slashed down.

Benedict stiffened, and then with a small gasp, fell limp onto Ashmera's sword. With disgust, the warrior drew her sword from the corpse's stomach and let him collapse to the floor.

She looked around at the people who were cowering in fright around the bar. Then, she ran towards the staircase, stepping over Benedict's body. She had to find Echo and Julian _now. _They weren't safe. She had to take them and the Crenga with her. The General would send people to kill all four of them.

Those thoughts increased her desperation as she slammed open the doors every room in the pub, hoping to see the two teens, even if she was invading their privacy. But as she opened the last door in the room, her worst fear was confirmed. They weren't here, and she had no idea where they could be.

She charged down the stairs and ran out of the bar, leaving the screams of the innocent people and the dead body behind. One of Benedict's henchmen would report back to The General, and then she was a dead woman.


	20. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

**The Know: I'm going to explain the your questions in this chapter and please don't unleash the horrible zombie king on me!**

**Golden Phoenix: I'm glad you love it! I'll consider the ice elemental bit, **

**Chocolate Minion: Why kill Ashmera when I can torture her ;) *Evil writer laugh***

* * *

_I'm going to die. _I thought, wind whistling past my ears, blocking the sound of Julian and Rafael screaming my name.

I closed my eyes, and waited for the moment when I'd hit the bottom.

_Crack! _

My eyes opened with pain as I hit a large dead tree sticking out the side of the cliff and fell through the branches.

With a yelp, I frantically grabbed at the branches as I started to slip through, and my hands latched onto a sturdy bough. I panted and looked down through the rain to see a small ledge five feet from where I hung.

I gripped the side of the cliff. I looked down. The cliff surrounding the ledge was fairly smooth, so there weren't a lot of handholds. There were some little pockets in the solid rock that I could stick a few fingers in, and so I inched my way down the smooth rock side to where the ledge was, my hands shaking with shock the whole time. When I reached the ledge, I let out a sigh of relief, and shouted up to where Julian and Rafael were,

"I'm alive! There's a ledge down here!"

"Echo?" Julian called down, his voice giddy with relief and joy.

"Yeah!' I panted, grinning. I was _alive_. What were the odds that I'd hit that tree? If I hadn't, I would be liquid by now. I looked around, and froze as I saw a cave that seemed to be carved into the cliff side.

"Echo! We'll have to go back and tell the others, we can't haul you back up on our own and we don't have any rope." Rafael called down.

"Hey guys, there's a cave down here." I called up, keeping my eyes on the cave, "Do you think this is what the scientists were talking about?"

I heard surprised snippets of words from above, but I was too busy examining the entrance. It had numerous symbols etched into the rock surface surrounding the entrance. I yelled back up, "I'm going to check it out. You guys go back and get help."

There was a pause, and then Rafael's concerned voice came, "Are you sure? I could try to manipulate the air-"

"No use. You aren't strong enough to carry a human are you?" My question was followed by a long pause before a reluctant sound of agreement from Rafael.

"We could always try-" Julian started.

"No Julian!" I heard Rafael say, "I don't have much control. She could go flying off the cliff."

"Ok. You go get help, I'll stay here while Echo explores the cave." Julian said, and before I heard Rafael's response, I walked into the cave, eager to explore it and resolve the nagging sense in the back of my head. The one that told me I belonged here.

The cave itself was very large. It was a chamber with carvings and symbols spread all around the place. I frowned as I saw a long, spider-like skeleton in the corner. The Crenga skeleton was old and bleached. I shivered as it's empty sockets stared back at me and looked away. There were two rooms, one seemed unnaturally dark with shadows and the other had a pulsing blue light.

I inched towards the light warily, clutching my sword hilt in a sweaty palm. I stepped over the symbols that swarmed the entryway and walked into the room.

I gasped as I saw what was in the room. All around me were glowing blue symbols that seemed to swim around the rock floor. In the center was an alter that held a blue stone that was pulsing with light.

I stepped forward, trying to avoid the moving symbols as I made my way towards the stone. As I was about to grab it, a symbol glided beneath my feet and I stood, paralyzed.

_What sort of magic is _this_? _I thought to myself, my heart beating quickly as sweat dripped off my brow as I desperately tried to move my frozen muscles. I watched the stone flicker and an image of a man appear. He looked at me with calculating eyes before smirking,

"I'm surprised you got this far." He said, waving his hand. I felt my body unfreeze, but I was still stuck to the symbol unable to move my feet.

"Who are you?" I asked, my eyes wide with panic.

He smirked, "My name is Grand Mage Severe. Or…" He said, sighing, "It _was._"

My jaw dropped and he looked at me with amusement.

"How-"

He raised an eyebrow, "Haven't you heard of an echo stone?"

I shook my head, too shocked for words.

He winced, "Good god. How long has it been since the war?"

My eyes widened, "Um- that was thousands of years ago."

It was his turn to look shocked as he looked around, "My, that's depressing."

He looked back at me and sighed, "An echo stone is basically a way to imprint a person into a stone so I can talk to people as if I were Grand Mage Severe."

I looked at him with disbelief, "That's amazing. Why don't we have any now?"

Severe shrugged, "I'm going to guess that China Sorrows followed my orders and hid all of the sanctuary objects away so the mortals didn't get them. Not even I know where they are now."

"What is this place?" I asked, looking around.

He scowled, "It wasn't supposed to be found. The symbols at the entrance should have killed you already."

I frowned, "The symbols? What? Those are magic?"

His scowled deepened, "How on earth did you get past them? The only other people who came here died within minutes."

"Who else came here?" I asked, my heartbeat quickening as I spotted a human's skeleton in the far corner of the room. It was still standing upright on a symbol. I shivered.

"I was told by her," He said, nodding at the skeleton, "That she came with a Crenga. Apparently the thing died in the main chamber."

I nodded, "Yes it did. But who were they?"

He scowled, "The woman claimed to be a mortal scientist. Apparently she was meddling with magic and decided this place would be a good place to experiment."

I grinned, "I found their house. The scientists were working on something all right. They were trying to turn a mortal in a magical being."

Severe looked at me with a grave expression, "What? That's impossible." His eyes grew thoughtful and he looked at me as if he was debating whether or not I was telling the truth.

"I'm not lying!" I said, pulling the ring out of my pocket, "We found this in the ruins of their house." I said, holding it out to him. The ring seemed to hum with energy the moment my fingers touched it, but I ignored it.

He looked at the ring and then at me, a look of dreadful understanding dawning on his face.

"What?" I said, frowning.

He was muttering to himself, still staring at the ring, "It all makes sense. You weren't killed…"

"What makes sense?" I said with annoyance, "I'm still standing here!"

He looked up at me, his expression one of terror, "Run." The symbol beneath my feet dissolved and I stumbled.

"Get out here. Throw that ring away."

I stood there, looking at him. His face contorted with rage, "I SAID RUN!"

I stumbled away with shock and he yelled after me, "You've unlocked the key you stupid girl! He's going to kill you!"

I turned and ran from the room, and into the main room. I gasped as I saw the shadows that seemed to coat the dark room start to writhe like snakes. They began to slither outwards, revealing what was in the room.

"Oh god." I breathed, my eyes wide as I clutched the ring and stared at Lord Vile.

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**Okay! Another chapter over! Any comments or reviews? Oh and I'm just going to let anyone who was reading Far From Godliness that I'm updating again for it after the super long wait XD (If you haven't read Far From Godliness, and you're super bored and you want to read something of mine, I'd love you to bits XD)**


	21. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! So yes. New chapter. Thank you all for your lovely reviews!**

**Scarlett Bloodwhite: Thank you so much! And I've updated!**

**MehScrewIt: Yes! I did do a chapter like this, but I screwed up so I deleted it. And cool theory XD**

**Mya2015: Update is here!**

**the Know: No prob! And yes! CARROT CAVALRY!**

**Golden Pheonix: I may not make it a redhead (Because I am one, and whenever I put a redhead in a story, everyone thinks it's me XD) but I'll definitely make it conflicting XD**

**Bestlauren: My god indeed XD**

**Luke16: Awww thank you :). As for Nye, hmmmmm will we ever know?**

**Chapter 19:**

Ashmera was riding back to the caravan when she saw the blockade. Twenty soldiers stood armed across the road, blocking all escapes with swords and crossbows that were all trained on her.

She winced and stopped her horse, letting the soldiers come and disarm her. She was outnumbered and even though they were mortals, they would kill her quicker then she could touch them to break their bones.

She scowled as she saw a pudgy figure in silk robes approach on his large horse. The General. The best strategist there was.

He shook his head as the soldiers cuffed Ashmera and sighed,

You were such a good soldier Ashmera." He said sadly watching as the soldiers dragged her to him. She went limp in between them with hopelessness.

He dismounted and stood looking at her as they released her, forcing her on her knees with their blades. She hung her head and scowled at the ground.

"I'm still willing to let you go back." He said, looking at this pathetic figure.

Her scowl deepened and she growled, "What's the catch?"

"You can't be trusted all on your own." He said casually, smirking, "You're bringing your long lost boyfriend back with you." Ashmera scowled and snapped her head up looking at him with surprise,

"What?"

He snapped his fingers and a man stepped forward, large in build, with a dark, long beard and curly hair that was tied back. His eyes were dark and cunning. His arms were burly and he seemed to be covered with sweat and hair.

Ashmera wrinkled her nose with disgust.

"You will return to your assigned caravan with Cedric. You will tell everyone that he is the love of your life and he has just returned from the sea."

Ashmera scowled and sneered at Cedric as he looked at her hungrily, "And if I refuse?"

The General smiled down at her, "You're smart. I'm sure you already know what will happen to you." The blades that were pointed at her back poked her.

"Fine." She snarled. The General had forgotten that once she was left alone with Cedric, she'd kill him.

"I'm going to tell you a few things about Cedric. He's a brilliant actor, and he's a _very _impressive fighter. Better than you, I reckon."

Cedric grinned down at her, his red and shiny face looked like a beet.

"Oh, but what to do about your power?" The General said, pretending to be stumped. His eyes lit up as he pretended to remember what his solution was, "I know, when facing magic, use science."

Ashmera heard a soldier was behind her and move her hair to one side. She stiffened as a needle pieced the back of her neck and a strange chemical was injected into her system.

She gasped, as she felt something slipping away, something that was as much a part of her as her swords were. Something she relied upon. Her magic. It was gone.

"How?" She gasped, feeling naked and vulnerable without the constant hum of magic in her blood.

"Those scientist found a way to inject magic into a mortal. We found a way to do the opposite." He said, a smirk spreading across his pudgy face, "I'm sorry Ashmera, I really am, but you need to be controllable. And this is the only way." He said cheerily, motioning for the guards to uncuff her hands. She grabbed at one of the guards with her hand, straining to break his bones with a touch, something she never had to think about doing. Nothing happened and the guard smirked.

She scowled up at The General, utter hatred burning in her eyes.

"If you attempt to alert the others to your condition or our campaign, Cedric will kill _everyone_." The General said, mounting his horse again, and then turned to Cedric, "Have fun m'boy."

Cedric grinned and nodded. The soldiers marched off, and when they disappeared, Cedric turned to Ashmera, his rude grin gone, who was still kneeling on the ground, defeated.

"Come on." Cedric said gruffly, his eyes cast downwards, avoiding the angry gaze of the newly turned mortal.

Ashmera stumbled to her feet and staggered to her horse, the grace she had possessed seemed to have slipped away along with her pride and dignity.

She mounted and slumped in the saddle, flicking the reins. Cedric glanced at her twisted face and his eyebrows scrunched together with sympathy, "I'm sorry." He said quietly, but loud enough that she could hear.

She laughed. It was a dead, bitter thing. It was sharp and painful to Cedric's heart and ears.

"Alright _boyfriend_." She spat, scowling at the road ahead.

"Please don't call me that." Cedric said calmly, looking ahead.

"Why? You seem to be willing." She snarled.

"I have a wife. And a little boy. They're being held prisoner until The General either gets bored and kills them or I prove myself worthy." Cedric said coldly, "I'm a prisoner as much as you are."

Ashmera stiffened and looked at him, "You? A wife? I feel sorry for that wench." She spat, her face a mask of contempt.

His grip on the reins clenched harder, but he said nothing, staring ahead.

Ashmera scowled at his silence. She wanted a reason to hate him. She wanted him to scream at her and hit her. She wanted him to kill her. But he sat there, a tear trickling down his cheek.

"I'm sorry." Ashmera sighed, looking down at her hands, "I'm just-"

"Upset, I know." He said, "Losing your magic isn't exactly fun."

She looked at him, "They took away yours too?"

He nodded and made Ashmera feel even guiltier for acting like a child.

"I'm sorry." She said, her face turning to its natural stony state.

He managed a smile, "Well, since we'll be acting for who knows how long, we might as well get to know each other."

She looked up at him, "I'm a fighter, not an actor."

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm living proof that you can be both. Besides, you'd be an _actress._"

She rolled her eyes and smirked, "I don't care. You should join our caravan's little theater troop if you want to talk about that stuff."

His eyes lit up, "Theater troop? They do plays?"

"Yeah," She said, smiling sadly, thinking of the teenagers and how they went around their lives innocently, "They do skits about Skulduggery and Valkyrie mostly, but they also do scenes from the war."

He nodded, "I've heard you're Tanith Low's descendant. Is that true?"

She nodded, smiling gently, as if she tried to fake her happiness to much, her face would break, "Yes."

He nodded and looked back at the road, "My wife's a dwarf. Everyone claims that dwarfs came from the mages, but it's hard to believe."

Ashmera frowned, "I thought it was goblin and mage."

He shrugged, "Might be. It sounds more likely, but I wouldn't want to tell _her _that." He said, chuckling sadly, "She has a short temper, like most dwarves do. I only hope that it won't rub off on our son."

Ashmera plastered a fake smile on her face, "Yeah, I had a dwarf boyfriend once, we drove each other nuts." She said, trying not to think about how he had tried to kill her in the end.

He grinned, "Yes, most dwarves are from down south, near the sea. That's where I met my wife, on the beach. She hit me with a fish." He said, smiling at the memory.

"So you _are _a sailor." Ashmera said, smirking.

He nodded, "The only reason I stopped sailing was because I heard Yera, my wife, was pregnant."

Ashmera nodded, "I've never been on a boat. The ocean is too big for my taste. Who knows what monsters lurk below?"

Cedric looked at her, a glint in his eyes, "One time in a fishing boat, we saw a monster of a squid. It was bigger than three of our boats. It's pupil alone was the size of my head." He said, gesticulating to demonstrate how enormous the beast was.

Ashmera smirked, "I know when I'm being lied to. Squids are small."

Cedric rolled his eyes and sighed with mock defeat, "Well, I guess I'll just have to take you with me to prove it."

Ashmera raised an eyebrow, "I'm _never _going to go into a boat. Especially since you just told me there are monsters that are of unimaginable size."

Cedric smirked, "Well, the sea isn't for the weak of heart-"

Ashmera laughed, "Weak hearted? Me? I've got one of the hardest hearts you've ever seen. It's made of stone." She said, grinning. Something about Cedric was nice. Ashmera felt she could talk to him, and she already felt like she'd known him for ages. She hadn't even opened up to Echo this much.

Cedric grinned slyly, "Then promise you'll come with me on a boat, and sail the sea when this is all over."

Ashmera nodded, "Fine. When this is all over, I will. And I'll hate it."

Cedric smiled, "You never know, you may love it."

Ashmera laughed, "No."

Cedric smirked and they rode in silence for a while.

"So," Cedric finally said, "Do you have any family?"

Ashmera shook her head, "Just my dad, and he died a couple of years ago."

"No boyfriend?" He asked, frowning as if he couldn't believe it.

She laughed humorlessly, "No. I've tried, they all either end up trying to kill me, or they get killed."

Cedric raised his eyebrows, "You lead a violent life."

Ashmera smirked and nodded, "I only joined The General because my dad just died and I was homeless. Before that, my life was fairly normal."

Cedric laughed, "I think all of our lives got stranger when we joined with The General."

"Do you think the effects are permanent?" Ashmera asked Cedric, her voice growing glum.

"You're talking about our magic? Well, I don't see the point in taking our magic away temporarily."

She sighed and looked at Cedric, "Would you really kill everyone if I told them to stop travelling to the mountain kingdom?"

He nodded, "I have a family at stake, and if I have to kill yours to keep mine alive, I'm afraid I would."

Ashmera nodded with understanding. She had loved her father too. Then a fire mage had slaughtered him.

"I just don't want to see them walk into that trap." Ashmera said, sighing, "I've grown attached to them, because they can make me feel normal. I get the feeling most people get around their family when I'm around them. I just don't want anymore of my family to die."

Cedric nodded empathetically, "I know." He said simply and they rode the rest of the way in silence.


	22. Chapter 20

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews, you guys are absolutely amazing!**

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**So! I wrote this chapter thinking, 'I'll make this chapter funny!' then I went back and read it and got depressed. It's not funny :(. Sorry, I did try XD. Anyways, that's why it's written weirdly. Because I thought it would be cool. **

* * *

**Chapter 20: **

"So," Skulduggery said, looking at Echo with his sockets.

"So." Echo repeated, glaring at the skeleton in the fancy suit, her arms folded.

"Erm-" Skulduggery looked around at the scowling people, "Well, it's certainly nice out tonight."

Echo scowled incredulously, "Are you seriously trying to start a conversation?"

Skulduggery shrugged and took off his hat, which was slightly ruffled, "It never hurts to try."

Craven laughed humorlessly, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he held a bloody Julian in his arms, "You just tried to _kill _us."

Skulduggery raised a gloved finger in protest, "Technically, that was Lord Vile-"

"You threw me off a bloody _cliff!_" Echo shouted, her cheeks burning with rage.

" Again, Lord Vile-" He started, his tone irritated.

"Let's not forget it was him who started the Great War." Leech said thoughtfully, its slender fingers still clutching the crossbow.

The skeleton grumbled something about how he hated Crengas.

"Give us one good reason not to kill you." Craven growled, hefting his club menacingly.

"I'm already dead?" Skulduggery said, unsure.

Craven swung his club and like a golf ball, the skeleton's skull went flying off his body and rolled away.

"That's not fair!" Skulduggery shouted as his body stumbled around, trying to find his misplaced skull.

The sorcerers advanced towards him, closing in, ready to crush his bones to pieces.

"My hat!" Skulduggery cried as the crumpled thing was carried by the wind towards the cliff, more concerned for it then he was about the bloodthirsty sorcerers advancing on him.

Ashmera picked up the hat and dusted it off, glaring at everyone, "You found one of the most powerful mages alive today and you decide to decapitate him when he's willing to help us?"

Craven looked at her with a stunned expression, and then at Cedric who had a hand laid protectively on her shoulder. His cheeks reddened,

"Who's that?" He asked, glaring at Cedric with hate.

Ashmera rolled her eyes, "He's my boyfriend." She said quickly, and folded her arms and glared, "What happened here?"

All of them started speaking at once, Skulduggery yelling about Crengas and Lord Vile and Echo sputtering about necromancy and cliffs.

Ashmera winced and Cedric boomed in a commanding voice, "QUIET!"

They all looked at him with annoyance. Even Skulduggery's body seemed miffed.

Ashmera scowled at Echo, Julian and Rafael, "You three. What happened?"

X

Rafael rode into camp on Powder, his eyes wide and his hair standing straight up.

"DAD!" He yelled between gasps for breath.

Leech ran out first, fury in its voice, "Where are they?"

Craven followed and looked between his son and the Crenga with confusion, "What-?"

"Echo and Julian-" He panted, "Echo fell off cliff. Found cave. Need rope." He gasped.

Leech turned and ran back to its wagon, its long legs carrying the Crenga with alarming speed.

Craven opened his mouth, but then frowned, "I thought Ashmera was watching you. Where is she?"

Rafael shook his head, "In the village. She thinks Echo and Julian are making love."

Craven's eyes widened, "WHAT?"

Rafael frowned, "They're not though."

"But- they're _dating_?"

"Who's dating?" Leech inquired, it's arms full of various instruments including a crossbow, a dead bird, and a bottle full of cat hair.

"Echo and Julian." Craven said, looking surprised.

"WHAT?" Leech roared angrily, dropping the dead bird in the mud before cursing and muttering, "That was my last one.."

"They're NOT dating!" Rafael exclaimed with frustration, "Echo's stuck on a cliff and you guys are worried if she's dating Julian?!"

Leech paused before nodding, "But if they're not dating, then we can go."

X

"Oh Faceless Ones save me!" Echo said, launching into one of the prayers that Dena had taught them.

Vile stood there and tilted his head at her with confusion.

She finished muttering the last part of the prayer, her voice cracking with emotion. She winced as she finished, expecting a very painful and slow death. Nothing happened. She opened an eye hesitantly, and saw Vile staring at her.

"Er- you _are _Lord Vile right?" She said, slipping the ring onto her finger. Immediately, she felt a surge of unfamiliar power.

Shadows crashed into her and sent her stumbling out of the cave and onto the edge of the ledge. Lord Vile sprinted forward. Echo screamed, her eyes wide with fear as the powerful Necromancer surged towards her, his clawed hands ready to tear her to shreds.

Echo frowned as a large rock hit the almighty Necromancer in the head and sent him stumbling.

She blinked.

X

Echo looked up to see Julian grinning at her, "I got him!"

She scowled, "You control fire and you threw a _rock_."

Julian frowned, "It was a large rock."

Echo opened her mouth to reply, but Vile punched her.

Julian's eyes widened and he yelped. He jumped off the cliff, falling on the tree and rolling onto the ledge groaning. Vile looked back at him before advancing towards Echo again.

Julian stumbled to his feet and blasted flames towards the dark mage.

Vile didn't even turn around.

Julian scrambled away to find another big rock.

X

Echo's hand shot out as she stepped back, panic in her eyes. She yelped as shadows shot out of her hand and blasted Vile in the chest. Vile wasn't hurt, but he stopped, staring at her.

Echo's eyes widened as she looked at her hand, and then at Lord Vile,

"Well," She gasped as she looked at the necromancer, "That's new-"

That was as far she got before Vile basted her off the ledge, the shadows pushing her down faster than gravity's pull towards the ground.

Echo screamed and flailed her arms, trying to snatch the shadows away, and to her surprise, they started peeling off her chest and falling under her, pushing her upwards towards where Lord Vile was.

_This is insane _She thought as the shadows carried her up like a dark angel ascending to fight the devil. How poetic of her. How did she have time to think about this?

Echo stopped thinking about that when she saw that Vile was looking up at her as she rose with the shadows to the top of the cliff. Julian was lugging a large rock and was getting ready to throw it at Lord Vile's head.

X

Rafael and Craven stared in amazement as Echo popped from below, shadows swirling under her like a living nest.

Leech, however, calmly stepped forward and grabbed Echo, pulling the shocked girl away from the cliff edge.

"Julian's still down there!" Echo cried, grabbing the Crenga for support as her legs nearly gave way.

Leech waved her concerns away, "Have you manipulated the shadows yet?"

"What? How did you know-?"

"DID YOU?" It shouted, gripping the stunned girl by the shoulders.

"Y-yes" She muttered, feeling woozy.

The Crenga strode swiftly to the horse, grabbing a crossbow from the saddlebags and notching an arrow.

It ran to the edge of the cliff where Julian had started screaming with pain.

"JULIAN!" Echo screamed, running to help, but Craven grabbed her and pulled her into a restraining hug.

X

The Crenga's long, slender fingers caressed the trigger, waiting for a good shot. The armored necromancer was slashing at Julian with razor-sharp shadows, drawing blood from the young boy as he advanced.

Leech frowned under the mask; it's hidden face one of absolute concentration. There was only one arrow that could finish this. The thing it had been working on for hundreds of years.

Julian fell the ground, curling up into a ball as Vile slashed viciously.

Echo screamed from behind Leech, one of pure pain. Vile stopped, frozen by the wildly desperate sound of grief.

The spider finger on the trigger pushed it in, and the arrow shot, slicing through Lord Vile's shadows, armor, and impacting the dark mage's bone.

He froze and looked down at the arrow, which was sticking out of his armor. Then up at the masked Crenga who was smirking underneath the mask.

He threw his hand out, part of him trying to manipulate the shadows to attack the Crenga, but the shadows were dissolving quickly, slipping back to where they belonged: in the dark.

Julian was lying still on the ground, but the Crenga didn't care about him. He wasn't important.

Vile fell to his knees, his armor seeming to dissolve around him, until slowly, bleached bones became visible.

Skulduggery Pleasant stood up and looked at the Crenga with the empty crossbow, and then at the arrow lying at his feet next to the armor.

He opened his mouth to speak, but shadows blasted out from Echo's hand and hit him square in the chest. The shadows clenched the skeleton in their grasp and yanked him up to the cliff top until he was eye level with Echo, who was scowling at him with hatred.

"That wasn't me-" Skulduggery gasped before Craven punched him, "THAT WAS MY SON YOU BASTARD!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Dad-" Julian's voice rasped from below.

Echo released Skulduggery at the sound of Julian's voice and raced to the cliff edge, looking over to see Julian standing, leaning on the cliff side.

Skulduggery put out his hand and the air surrounding the bloody teenager slowly scooped him up and lifted him into the air and safely onto the cliff top with the rest of them.

X

Ashmera looked at the bunch of them.

Skulduggery cleared his throat, "It was much more epic then that." He said critically.

Echo spun around and glared at him with dislike, "Well, I wasn't trying to make it an action scene, I was just telling her what happened."

Skulduggery's body picked up his head and secured it onto his body,

"Regardless, I was much more impressive then _that_."

"You beat me to a bloody pulp!" Julian yelled, an angry expression on his face.

Skulduggery sighed, "Lord _Vile _beat you to a bloody pulp. Don't take it personally, he does that to everyone."

Before the teens could decapitate Skulduggery again, Ashmera stepped between them, Cedric frozen with shock at the sight of the skeleton.

"Listen!" She roared, pulling out her sword as the teenagers tried to get past her to Skulduggery who had a flame ready in his hand.

"I think it's best if we take him with us. Who knows, he might even be able to help us." Ashmera reasoned, the teenagers looking at her with resentment.

"That is if he can resist putting that armor on again." Echo snarled under her breath, glaring at the detective.

Skulduggery observed her coolly, "If you're the last necromancer, I feel sorry for this world."

"I'm _not _a necromancer." Echo spat.

"I'd like to believe you, but you're wearing a necromancer ring and using it's power to manipulate shadows. That's the definition of a necromancer, without the religion bit." He said, crossing his arms, "How did you survive the bombs?"

Echo frowned and everyone went quiet as it hit them. He didn't know how the war had ended. He was clueless to how much time had passed.

"What?" Skulduggery asked, looking at the solemn people staring at him, "Do I have something on my face?"


	23. Chapter 21

**AN:** **I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it :P**

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**Chapter 21:**

Amanda perked up as she heard the hooves of horses approach the campgrounds. She nudged Helen, who was washing pots feverishly with a worried look on her face.

Amanda stood up as she saw the horses, "Helen! They've come back!"

The older woman jumped to her feet; the pans she had been washing clattering to the ground. She started running with her skirts trailing in the dust carelessly as she sprinted to Craven's horse, barely giving him time to dismount before lunging at him and pulling him into a fierce hug,

"Where the hell were you guys?" Amanda yelled at her brothers. She couldn't see Echo, but at that moment, all of her attention was on her brothers.

Julian frowned, looking at Rafael, "You didn't tell her?"

Rafael shook his head defensively, "I thought Dad was going to…"

Craven looked up and gasped in the heavy woman's embrace, "I didn't know you didn't tell her! I thought she was in on the plan with the rest of you scoundrels."

Amanda turned to look at the boys, betrayal and hurt burning in her eyes, "What plan?"

Rafael opened his mouth to speak, but Helen's scream pierced the cold spring air as the cook saw Skulduggery.

X

After they had managed to calm down Helen and Amanda, Ashmera had told Skulduggery what had happened since he had been encased in his prison. She told him in a gruff voice that everyone he knew was dead, and all the landmarks and familiarity in the world was most likely destroyed as well.

The skeleton sat there, the fire illuminating his sun-bleached skull. He did not move. He did not talk. The others regarded him with caution; afraid they'd be witnesses to his legendary wrath.

"Why did you wake me up?" Skulduggery finally said, addressing Echo. His voice was soft, and broken.

Echo's cheeks grew red, "What do you mean? I'm NOT a sorcerer!" She snapped, ignoring the fragile state the old soldier seemed to be in.

"_Mage_." Skulduggery corrected harshly. His head snapped up, looking at her challengingly.

"No," Echo snarled, standing up and glaring at him, her eyes ablaze, "There _are _no mages! We aren't a damned sanctuary! We aren't even a species! We're mutts! And it's all your fault!"

"You don't know what it's like!" Skulduggery yelled, his gloved hands clenching into fists, "To lose _everything_ you ever cherished, you loved…" He faltered, his voice choking with emotion.

Echo's scowl deepened, "I _do _know. My parents died, my whole _caravan _died except Leech, and _I _didn't turn into some psycho!"

Skulduggery paused before snarling in a raw voice, "Well, you turned into a necromancer, close enough."

Echo lunged at the skeleton, her eyes bright with fury and her lips pulled back into a snarl. She was jerked back by Leech's strong, spider-like hands as he held her back firmly. Skulduggery looked almost disappointed as the Crenga pulled the raging girl with dark hair away from him.

"Look!" Ashmera shouted, stepping forward, Cedric shadowing her, "This isn't getting us anywhere. The plain and simple fact is that the great Skulduggery Pleasant is alive and he's stuck in a time where everyone is willing to put aside old disputes to hunt him down and grind his bones to dust."

Skulduggery tilted his head, "Am I _that _unpopular?"

Ashmera turned to him, her eyes glinting intelligently, "No, _you're _more of an idol. Even the mortals love hearing about you,"

"As they should." Skulduggery said, trying to lighten the mood, but his voice still sounded as if it could shatter at any second; along with his sanity.

"But they'd do anything to prevent Lord Vile from destroying it all." Ashmera said solemnly.

"And for a good reason." Leech sneered behind the wooden mask as it continued to grip Echo's arms, "I say we throw him to the wolves. We don't owe him a damned thing."

Skulduggery tilted his head and said in an annoyed voice, "Except for those countless times I saved the world from destruction of course."

Amanda nodded shyly, but no one paid her any mind.

"What _I _can't understand," Echo said, yanking herself away from Leech's protective grasp, "Is that Skulduggery thinks that_ I'm _a necromancer when we all know that all the necromancers were destroyed by the mortals."

Skulduggery shook his head, "Severe was a necromancer… Maybe you're directly descended from him…"

Echo snorted and scowled, "Both of my parents were mortals, thank you very much, and besides, no bloodline is pure mage. It's impossible!"

Leech touched her shoulder gently, and Echo looked back as it said lowly, "Echo… I need to talk to you in private."

Echo stopped and looked at the Crenga with a puzzled look on her face. She followed Leech hesitantly, glancing back at the rest of the caravan. Most of them had looks of worry in their eyes. Echo knew that they were all cautious of the Crenga.

She smiled reassuringly back at them before following Leech away from the caravan. They walked in silence through the dark, but Echo was practically humming with curiosity. The adrenaline from earlier seemed to keep her on her feet as they walked through the tall grass.

Once the lights from the caravan were like golden stars on the hill, Leech turned to Echo, its wooden mask staring blankly down at her.

"Echo, I knew your parents." Leech said finally, his voice guilty.

Echo frowned, not understanding what he was talking about. _What? Annete and Leech adopted me… _

"After I was rescued by Annete, we had a… disagreement. I left her all alone, and went off to see if there were any others like me out there. I met another Crenga, Soot. We were both ambitious; I was a scientist and Soot was an explorer. When I expressed my interest in the study of magic and science to it, Soot told me about a young couple it knew about. They had an obsession with magic. Even though they were mortals."

Echo looked at him, her pupils dilating as she began to piece together what the Crenga was saying. Leech continued wearily, as if the secret had weighed it down for decades,

"When I met them, the woman was pregnant. They seemed friendly enough, and the four of us quickly became close comrades. When the child was born, I realized the child was not born out of love, but rather for the couple's own personal gains. They told me they had figured out a perfect formula for creating magic within a regular mortal, and they had decided to test it on their child," The Crenga looked pointedly at Echo,

"My parents…"

"Wanted to use you as an experiment. Your mother was actually prepared to have another child if the experiment backfired on you."

A look of horror quickly developed on Echo's face, and Leech quickly added,

"I was a young Crenga. I had no regard for human life, and I didn't realize how barbaric and immoral your parent's actions were. But the experiment _didn't _backfire. Your parents took potions of their own well before you were conceived and your mother continued to take them until you were born. It served as a biological magnet when the compound entered your system. They began injecting you with more solutions as the weeks went on, and as you began attracting more and more dark magic, we knew that we'd made something that hadn't been seen for centuries. When Soot found a couple of old necromancer pages that explained the process of making an item of power, we set to work; and bound you to your ring."

Leech gestured with its long spider fingers to the ring on Echo's hand.

"All of this was good, but we still needed one last thing; a catalyst. Something that had an enormous concentration of power. We couldn't find anyone or anything that possessed that much magic. The magic in the world today is watered down; it's unfocused and more of a wild energy instead of the precise art it used to be. Then one day, we found it; a point that had an overwhelming amount of magical energy. Your Mother and Soot decided to explore the site, and when they found the caves, they rushed back and got us and some climbing supplies. We made our way out, and we found the place. Your Mother and Soot decided to go down on their own to make sure everything was safe before we took you down there. We don't know what happened, but they never returned."

Images flashed through Echo's stunned mind, the Crenga skeleton and the human skeleton she had seen. _The symbols on the entrance of the cave… Severe said that they killed the others within minutes…_

"Heartbroken, your father fled. I looked after you for a few months, while he 'recovered' from the grief. What I didn't know was that he had taken to drinking, and would go to the local pubs. One night, your father became extremely drunk and told the people in the pub all about the experiment. They chased him back to his house and killed him and burned everything in the house."

Leech paused to recover from the demons that seemed to be haunting it as it recalled the events. It's pale fingers shook slightly, and it clenched them into fists,

"After I found the remains, I fled the scene, and Anette welcomed me back into her caravan. She tried to figure out why I had taken you in, but she never learned the truth about you. I was the only person left who knew what you were." It said quietly.

Leech's mask was tilted towards the ground with guilt, as the silence between them grew heavy,

"So I _am _a necromancer… and you never told me?" She asked, her voice taking on an accusing tone.

"I didn't want you to go back. Your Mother and Soot died in that cave. I didn't want you to meet the same fate." It said in a logical manner.

"Oh, but I'm just the test subject. Why concern yourself with _my _wellbeing? Did it ever occur to you that I've grown up imagining my parents to be normal mortals who loved me dearly? But knowing my luck, of course they were scientists who were willing to risk my life and make me into a damned experiment!" She screamed, her eyes ablaze with a fire Leech had never seen within her before now.

Leech looked at her flushed face, and finally said, "I never said I was doing what was best for you, I was only saying I tried."

"Well," She snarled, "The only people I'd trust you with are dead ones."

Echo turned on her heel, marching away from the guilt-ridden Crenga and towards the ridge where she and Ashmera had looked up at the stars only a day earlier. To her surprise, she saw Amanda sitting on edge, her legs dangling over ad her arms crossed sullenly.

"What's wrong Amanda?" Echo asked, her face still red from anger. Her voice was harsh and bitter.

Amanda looked at Echo, "I'm just tired of you treating me like dirt. Like I'm less important than the others." She said, spite in her words.

Echo raised an eyebrow, her face still a mask of anger, "Well I'm so sorry you don't feel like a little princess all the time, but not everything's about you Amanda." She snapped, and Amanda looked at her, stunned.

"Why would you say that?" Amanda asked, her voice shaking as she stood and looked at Echo, a wounded expression on her face.

"Because I'm tired of you acting like your problems are bigger than everyone else's." She snarled, her fury transforming her from Echo to someone else; someone who didn't care as her friend looked at her with tears streaming down her face before running away.

Echo watched Amanda scamper past her. The pretty girl was doing her best to hold back the tears that were welling in her eyes, but Echo could see how distraught she was. A part of her felt guilty, but she immediately justified herself with her own problems.

Echo sat down slowly, looking up at the stars, a scowl upon her face. She remembered those times that she had dreamed of becoming a sorcerer. Echo looked at the ring on her finger, and suddenly, it seemed to be ten times as heavy.

This was not what she had wanted.

This was not what she had wanted at all.

* * *

**Note to self: Give MehScrewIt a penny. **


	24. Chapter 22

**AN: ****Yay! First update of the new year! The end is in sight for this fanfiction, so things will be picking up pretty soon. For anyone who's going to be upset when The Last Necromancer ends, don't fret. I'm considering making a sequel, but it's honestly up to you guys. Would you like a second one after this? Tell me in your review :)**

**Tate: Thanks! But if I was Derek Landy, I think I would have killed off more characters you guys all care about XD**

**Hellsgun EmmortalDead: *Bows and curtains close***

**Blufox03: Aww thank you so much :D you have no idea how much your review meant to me :) Thank you for coming back and YES! I updated XD!**

**MehScrewIt: What a wonderful 25th of December it was XD how was yours? And yes. You were right! Congrats!**

**The Know: Ohmygoodnessgraciousgravey :D Thank you so much! I'm so happy you like it so far :) and my favorite's gotta be Kingdom of The Wicked. The villains are so horrible I'm actually happy when Vile and Darquesse take control and beat them to bloody pulps :P**

**Golden Pheonix: Honestly if they made a SP movie I'd die from happiness and I'd write like ten different one-shots. In the meantime I'll just have to keep writing and hope that Derek Landy notices me someday... XD**

**Rogue Fire: *Sweats nervously* I- Uh- ummmmmmmm... Heh. Let's just get to the chapter eh? XD**

**Chapter 22:**

The next morning, the caravan left the town of Ubeck, a secretive air about them. They only made one stop. And that was to get a new wagon for Echo. Neither girl would say why, but Amanda and Echo refused to speak to each other.

Echo quickly took her stuff from Amanda's wagon without a word as the girl with dark coffee brown skin watched her sullenly.

Echo's new wagon was by no means large or nice; it was more of a supplies wagon. The floor was made of rough planks of wood that could easily administer splinters. The thing creaked every time Echo shifted in it. The canvas was droopy in places, and had brown stains on it.

She had tried to make the wagon look nice, like Amanda's colorful wagon, but she really didn't have her heart into it and eventually gave up after hanging a few droopy wildflowers on the beams.

Most of the people were out talking and laughing instead of being cooped up in their wagons. In Echo's old caravan, they would have all stayed in their separate wagons except Nadar and herself. Everyone else would be busy working on their crafts.

Now she sat alone in her dark wagon, looking at the weak light halfheartedly shining through the canvas of the wagon top as she heard their laughter and their singing.

The only people who weren't out there were Leech, Skulduggery, Amanda, and herself.

She didn't know where Skulduggery was staying, but she knew Leech would never let the skeleton set foot in its wagon. Perhaps he was hiding in one of the boy's wagons. The caravan had come to the decision that it would be safest if Skulduggery were to stay hidden during the day, and guard the caravan by night.

It wasn't like he had really wanted to socialize. Echo had heard the others saying he had refused to engage in conversation with anyone. They said he was depressed, and who wouldn't be after going through what he went through?

Echo stared at the ring on her finger with resentment. No one had come to talk to her since Leech told her the truth. It must have told the others to keep their distance.

_Or maybe they've forgotten about you. _She thought to herself venomously.

Her scowl deepened as she heard Cedric singing a merry tune. She didn't recognize the song, but she guessed it was a sailor song.

X

Craven cleared his throat, looking at Cedric as the red faced man finished his song, "So," He said in a passive voice, "How long have you and Ashmera been together."

Cedric smiled largely, "I believe it's been a year." He looked over at Ashmera and smiled. Craven felt his heart sink as the blonde woman grinned back at him. A genuine smile. The most he had ever been able to get from her was a smirk, despite all his efforts.

"I had to leave for sea a while ago," He said, "And she hated water so much she refused to join me." He said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked ahead of the wagons.

Ashmera rolled her eyes, "You know the captain would have never allowed me on board. He was wary of mages," She explained, looking at Craven, who nodded sulkily.

Julian glanced at Rafael who raised both eyebrows. They were both thinking the same thing; how the hell had one man changed Ashmera so suddenly?

"Who wants lunch?" Helen interrupted, standing close to Craven and eyeing Cedric gratefully.

X

Amanda grabbed her plate and quickly grabbed a piece of bread and a piece of salted ham before turning to leave. She didn't want to be here, and she didn't want to talk to anyone. Plenty of people had asked her what was wrong, but Echo's words kept coming back, _Stop making it about you. _

She scurried back to her wagon; her pretty brown eyes downcast. She put the warm plate of food onto the light wooden floors before hoisting herself into the wagon. She took off her soft leather slippers and put them neatly in the corner of her wagon and turned to get her plate of food.

"I hope you don't mind if I stay here."

Amanda squeaked with shock and dropped her plate, turning and looking at the skeleton with surprise.

"Oh-" He said, jumping to his feet and bending down to get the bread and meat she had dropped, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's alright," She muttered, taking the plate from him, "But what are you doing in my wagon?"

He tilted his head and looked down at her, "Your father said it would be alright if I stayed here. But I suppose it isn't really his choice is it?"

Amanda frowned, "I thought you were staying with Julian and Rafael…"

"Well, I was," He said sheepishly, "But Julian is a little scared of me."

"I'd be scared too. You almost ripped him to shreds." Amanda said, looking up at the skeleton with cautious awe.

"That was _not _me!" Skulduggery snapped.

"I know, I know," Amanda said quickly, noticing his irritation, "But it still changes your view of a person doesn't it? Knowing what they're capable of?"

"Is that why Echo moved out? Because you know what she's capable of?" Skulduggery asked, and Amanda's expression hardened.

"It was an agreement between us." She muttered glumly, her shoulders slouching as she gazed at the floor, "For her to move out."

"I'm sorry," Skulduggery said, his voice softer, "I didn't mean to make you more upset."

"No," She said, looking up at him, "It's fine, and you can stay…"

Skulduggery nodded slowly and sat back down, "Thank you."

Amanda smiled before sitting on the floor across from him and starting to eat.

X

Ashmera led Cedric to her wagon and glanced over her shoulder at Craven who was still regarding her with betrayal in his eyes. A small part of her felt sorry for him.

She had flirted with him when they first met so she could become a part of his caravan. She had no real interest in him, but his infatuation had blinded him.

Ashmera turned her head and climbed into the cold wagon after Cedric. They had decided to share a cot, for both of them were paranoid that someone might look in at them and see that a couple who had been together for a year were using separate cots.

But this situation didn't provide any awkward barriers between them. Cedric had promptly gotten rid of any tensions or doubts Ashmera had when he laid a scarf down the center of the cot; separating it into two parts.

They were presently sitting on the cot side by side, eating their lunch greedily.

Cedric looked up at her, using his handkerchief to wipe his bearded chin, "So," He said lightly, "The next town is Zilandi right?"

Ashmera nodded, her attention focused on the bread in front of her.

"I bet Rafael will be happy." He said, taking a bite of his bread thoughtfully.

Ashmera swallowed her food and looked at him with confusion, "Why is that?"

"The lad is obsessed with running." Cedric said casually, moving onto his corn, "He told me he plans to compete in their races, since Zilandi holds large athletic events."

Ashmera frowned. How was it that in one day Cedric knew more about people than she knew about them after months?

"Do you have any plans once we arrive in Zilandi? It is a major city after all." He said, looking at her.

"I suppose I'll do some duels." Ashmera said, shrugging, "I can make some money off the bets."

Cedric nodded, "Wonderful. I'm going to try helping out around here. Try and cheer up Amanda and Echo-"

Ashmera looked at him, her eyes full of frustration.

"What?" He asked, frowning at her with confusion.

"Why the hell do you try and get close to them? You _know _what we have to do in the end… Why bother to get to know them when you'll be the person thrusting the knife into their hearts?" She hissed quietly.

He looked at her sadly, "Oh Ashmera. I'd love nothing more than to be a stone. To be someone with no feelings, but I can't. All I can do is have hope that things will work out."

Ashmera scoffed, "How Cedric? We're just puppets! Do something wrong and they cut your threads. They kill your family, they kill your friends, and then they kill you."

He motioned for her to be quieter and she sighed, sounding close to tears.

"I wish I never joined the general. I wish he were dead." She choked and Cedric quickly put his large arm around her shoulder, comforting her.

"You know, you remind me of my wife." He whispered softly to her as she cried silently in his embrace, "She's always angry; always ready to murder someone. But when she's alone, she breaks down. It's not healthy. Wear your heart on your sleeve sometimes all right? No one said you couldn't have feelings and a good cry every now and then."

She buried her face into his side as she felt the hot tears run down her cheeks as she thought of what she would have to do in a few months time.

X

Helen looked at Craven closely as the usually merry man drooped like a wilted flower.

"How do you like the bread?" She asked, her hazel eyes scanning him intently. She really wished he wasn't so upset about Ashmera. When she had learned that the stunning woman had a boyfriend, she was overjoyed and expected Craven to come around in mere hours. Yet he continued to sulk like a child who hadn't gotten any supper.

He looked up at her absent-mindedly, "Yes… it was good. Thank you Helen." He said and heaved a mighty sigh filled with regret and despair.

Helen rolled her eyes at the man's dramatics and the plump woman laid her large hand on his shoulder, "I know you're upset about Ashmera, but honestly, you barely knew her. You're better off with someone you're more… familiar with."

He looked at her sadly, "But I know no one well enough to court. I think I just need to be alone Helen." He said and walked off sullenly.

Helen huffed with frustration, and when he was out of sight, threw her cooking spoon against the side of her wagon with anger.

Why were men so clueless?

* * *

**Rogue Fire: I CHOOSE THE WAY OF THE CARROTS! WE WILL RULE THE GALAXY!**


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